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1638

April 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1612 – Miyamoto Musashi defeats Sasaki Kojirō at Funajima island.
  • 1613 – Samuel Argall, having captured Native American princess Pocahontas in Passapatanzy, Virginia, sets off with her to Jamestown with the intention of exchanging her for English prisoners held by her father.
  • 1742 – George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
  • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
  • 1829 – The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 gives Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in Parliament.
  • 1849 – Lajos Kossuth presents the Hungarian Declaration of Independence in a closed session of the National Assembly.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Raleigh, North Carolina is occupied by Union Forces.
  • 1870 – The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.
  • 1873 – The Colfax massacre, in which more than 60 black men are murdered, takes place.
  • 1909 – The military of the Ottoman Empire reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
  • 1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British Indian Army troops lead by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer killed approx 379-1000 unarmed demonstrators including men and women in Amritsar, India; and approximately 1,500 injured.
  • 1941 – A pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.
  • 1943 – World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.
  • 1943 – The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson’s birth.
  • 1944 – Relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.
  • 1945 – World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.
  • 1945 – World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna.
  • 1948 – In an ambush, 78 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital, and a British soldier, are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarrah. This event came to be known as the Hadassah medical convoy massacre.
  • 1953 – CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.
  • 1958 – American pianist Van Cliburn is awarded first prize at the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
  • 1960 – The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world’s first satellite navigation system.
  • 1964 – At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
  • 1970 – An oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed “Odyssey“) while en route to the Moon.
  • 1972 – The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.
  • 1972 – Vietnam War: The Battle of An Lộc begins.
  • 1975 – An attack by the Phalangist resistance kills 26 militia members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, marking the start of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War.
  • 1976 – The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.
  • 1976 – Forty workers die in an explosion at the Lapua ammunition factory, the deadliest accidental disaster in modern history in Finland.
  • 1992 – Basements throughout the Chicago Loop are flooded, forcing the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to close.
  • 1997 – Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.
  • 2003 – A bus near the Vale of Tempe, Greece was involved in a major vehicle accident with a truck and multiple cars, leaving 21 students in the tenth grade of Makrochori, Imathia High School dead and nine injured during their return to their homes from a trip to Athens.
  • 2017 – The US drops the largest ever non-nuclear weapon on Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

Births on April 13

  • 1229 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1294)
  • 1350 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (d. 1405)
  • 1506 – Peter Faber, French priest and theologian, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1546)
  • 1519 – Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589)
  • 1570 – Guy Fawkes, English soldier, planned the Gunpowder Plot (probable; d. 1606)
  • 1573 – Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1625)
  • 1593 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1641)
  • 1618 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (d. 1693)
  • 1636 – Hendrik van Rheede, Dutch botanist (d. 1691)
  • 1648 – Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (d. 1717)
  • 1713 – Pierre Jélyotte, French tenor (d. 1797)
  • 1729 – Thomas Percy, Irish bishop and poet (d. 1811)
  • 1732 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
  • 1735 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician, founded the New York Chamber of Commerce (d. 1791)
  • 1743 – Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
  • 1747 – Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
  • 1764 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1830)
  • 1769 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (d. 1830)
  • 1771 – Richard Trevithick, Cornish-English engineer and explorer (d. 1833)
  • 1780 – Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer, invented the Screw-pile lighthouse (d. 1868)
  • 1784 – Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
  • 1787 – John Robertson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1873)
  • 1794 – Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist and academic (d. 1867)
  • 1802 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist (d. 1884)
  • 1808 – Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (d. 1889)
  • 1810 – Félicien David, French composer (d. 1876)
  • 1824 – William Alexander, Irish archbishop, poet, and theologian (d. 1911)
  • 1825 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
  • 1828 – Josephine Butler, English feminist and social reformer (d. 1906)
  • 1828 – Joseph Lightfoot, English bishop and theologian (d. 1889)
  • 1832 – Juan Montalvo, Ecuadorian author and diplomat (d. 1889)
  • 1841 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (d. 1905)
  • 1850 – Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, Irish astronomer (d. 1917)
  • 1851 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist (d. 1928)
  • 1851 – William Quan Judge, Irish occultist and theosophist (d. 1896)
  • 1852 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman, founded the F. W. Woolworth Company (d. 1919)
  • 1854 – Lucy Craft Laney, Founder of the Haines Normal and Industrial School, Augusta, Georgia (d. 1933)
  • 1860 – James Ensor, English-Belgian painter (d. 1949)
  • 1866 – Butch Cassidy, American criminal (d. 1908)
  • 1872 – John Cameron, Scottish international footballer and manager (d. 1935)
  • 1872 – Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian-Croatian journalist and author (d. 1945)
  • 1873 – John W. Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Solicitor General (d. 1955)
  • 1875 – Ray Lyman Wilbur, American physician, academic, and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1949)
  • 1879 – Edward Bruce, American lawyer and painter (d. 1943)
  • 1879 – Oswald Bruce Cooper, American type designer, lettering artist, graphic designer, and educator (d. 1940)
  • 1880 – Charles Christie, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded the Christie Film Company (d. 1955)
  • 1885 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (d. 1964)
  • 1885 – Juhan Kukk, Estonian politician, Head of State of Estonia (d. 1942)
  • 1885 – György Lukács, Hungarian philosopher and critic (d. 1971)
  • 1885 – Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy, Dutch politician (d. 1961)
  • 1887 – Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and golfer (d. 1995)
  • 1889 – Herbert Yardley, American cryptologist and author (d. 1958)
  • 1890 – Frank Murphy, American jurist and politician, 56th United States Attorney General (d. 1949)
  • 1890 – Dadasaheb Torne, Indian director and producer (d. 1960)
  • 1891 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1921)
  • 1891 – Nella Larsen, Danish/African-American nurse, librarian, and author (d. 1964)
  • 1891 – Robert Scholl, German accountant and politician (d. 1973)
  • 1892 – Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, English air marshal (d. 1984)
  • 1892 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented Radar (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Joie Ray, American runner (d. 1978)
  • 1896 – Fred Barnett, English footballer (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Werner Voss, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1917)
  • 1899 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and game designer, created Scrabble (d. 1993)
  • 1899 – Harold Osborn, American high jumper and decathlete (d. 1975)
  • 1900 – Sorcha Boru, American potter and ceramic sculptor (d. 2006)
  • 1900 – Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)
  • 1901 – Jacques Lacan, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1981)
  • 1901 – Alan Watt, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to Japan (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Philippe de Rothschild, French Grand Prix driver, playwright, and producer (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Marguerite Henry, American author (d. 1997)
  • 1904 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1987)
  • 1905 – Rae Johnstone, Australian jockey (d. 1964)
  • 1906 – Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Harold Stassen, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2001)
  • 1909 – Eudora Welty, American short story writer and novelist (d. 2001)
  • 1911 – Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer and manager (d. 1946)
  • 1911 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1994)
  • 1911 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (d. 1983)
  • 1913 – Dave Albritton, American high jumper and coach (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Kermit Tyler, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Orhan Veli Kanık, Turkish poet and author (d. 1950)
  • 1916 – Phyllis Fraser, Welsh-American actress, journalist, and publisher, co-founded Beginner Books (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Robert Orville Anderson, American businessman, founded Atlantic Richfield Oil Co. (d. 2007)
  • 1917 – Bill Clements, American soldier, engineer, and politician, 15th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Roland Gaucher, French journalist and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Howard Keel, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Madalyn Murray O’Hair, American activist, founded American Atheists (d. 1995)
  • 1920 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
  • 1920 – Claude Cheysson, French lieutenant and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Liam Cosgrave, Irish lawyer and politician, 6th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2017)
  • 1920 – Theodore L. Thomas, American chemical engineer, Patent attorney and writer (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Heinz Baas, German footballer and manager (d. 1994)
  • 1922 – John Braine, English librarian and author (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician and teacher, 1st President of Tanzania (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Valve Pormeister, Estonian architect (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Don Adams, American actor and director (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – A. H. Halsey, English sociologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Stanley Tanger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – John T. Biggers, American painter (d. 2001)
  • 1924 – Jack T. Chick, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress (d. 1983)
  • 1926 – John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, English businessman (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Rosemary Haughton, English philosopher, theologian, and author
  • 1927 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler (d. 1977)
  • 1927 – Maurice Ronet, French actor and director (d. 1983)
  • 1928 – Alan Clark, English historian and politician, Minister of State for Trade (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Gianni Marzotto, Italian racing driver and businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Anita Cerquetti, Italian soprano (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Robert Enrico, French director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1931 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver and engineer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Jon Stone, American composer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1932 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean-American economist and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1976)
  • 1933 – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, American soldier and politician
  • 1934 – John Muckler, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1936 – Pierre Rosenberg, French historian and academic
  • 1937 – Col Joye, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1937 – Edward Fox, English actor
  • 1937 – Lanford Wilson, American playwright, co-founded the Circle Repertory Company (d. 2011)
  • 1938 – Klaus Lehnertz, German pole vaulter
  • 1938 – John Weston, English poet and diplomat
  • 1939 – Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Paul Sorvino, American actor and singer
  • 1940 – Mike Beuttler, Egyptian-English racing driver (d. 1988)
  • 1940 – Lester Chambers, American singer and musician
  • 1940 – J. M. G. Le Clézio, Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1940 – Vladimir Cosma, French composer, conductor and violinist
  • 1940 – Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1940 – Max Mosley, English racing driver and engineer, co-founded March Engineering, former president of the FIA
  • 1940 – Ruby Puryear Hearn, African-American biophysicist
  • 1941 – Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Jean-Marc Reiser, French author and illustrator (d. 1983)
  • 1942 – Bill Conti, American composer and conductor
  • 1943 – Alan Jones, Australian rugby coach, radio host, and educator
  • 1943 – Billy Kidd, American skier
  • 1943 – Tim Krabbé, Dutch journalist and author
  • 1943 – Philip Norman, English journalist, author, and playwright
  • 1944 – Franco Arese, Italian runner
  • 1944 – Charles Burnett, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Jack Casady, American bass guitarist
  • 1944 – Susan Davis, Russian-American social worker and politician
  • 1945 – Ed Caruthers, American high jumper
  • 1945 – Tony Dow, American actor
  • 1945 – Lowell George, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1979)
  • 1945 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (d. 1970)
  • 1945 – Judy Nunn, Australian actress and author
  • 1946 – Al Green, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor
  • 1947 – Rae Armantrout, American poet and academic
  • 1947 – Mike Chapman, Australian-English songwriter and producer
  • 1947 – Jean-Jacques Laffont, French economist and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1947 – Yves Landry, Canadian cyclist
  • 1948 – Nam Hae-il, South Korean admiral
  • 1948 – Drago Jančar, Slovenian author and playwright
  • 1948 – Mikhail Shufutinsky, Soviet and Russian singer, actor, TV presenter
  • 1949 – Len Cook, New Zealand-English mathematician and statistician
  • 1949 – Frank Doran, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Ricardo Zunino, Argentinian racing driver
  • 1950 – Ron Perlman, American actor
  • 1950 – Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1951 – Leszek Borysiewicz, Welsh immunologist and academic
  • 1951 – Peabo Bryson, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1951 – Peter Davison, English actor
  • 1951 – Joachim Streich, German footballer and manager
  • 1951 – Max Weinberg, American drummer
  • 1952 – Sam Bush, American mandolin player
  • 1952 – David Drew, English lawyer and politician
  • 1952 – Gabrielle Gourdeau, Canadian writer (d. 2006)
  • 1952 – Jonjo O’Neill, Irish jockey and trainer
  • 1953 – Stephen Byers, English politician
  • 1953 – Dany Laferrière, Haitian-Canadian journalist and author
  • 1954 – Jimmy Destri, American keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1954 – Niels Olsen, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1954 – Barbara Roche, English lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – Steve Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Muwenda Mutebi II, current King of Buganda Kingdom
  • 1955 – Louis Johnson, American bass player and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1955 – Lupe Pintor, Mexican boxer
  • 1955 – Ole von Beust, German lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Hamburg
  • 1956 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand racing driver (d. 2003)
  • 1956 – Alan Devonshire, English footballer and manager
  • 1956 – Edward Forbes Smiley III, American art thief and map dealer
  • 1957 – Amy Goodman, American journalist and author
  • 1957 – Saundra Santiago, American actress
  • 1960 – Lyn Brown, English social worker and politician
  • 1960 – Bob Casey, Jr., American lawyer and politician, senior senator of Pennsylvania
  • 1960 – Olaf Ludwig, German cyclist and manager
  • 1960 – Rudi Völler, German footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Hiro Yamamoto, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1962 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist (d. 1988)
  • 1963 – Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player and author
  • 1964 – Davis Love III, American golfer and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress and comedian
  • 1964 – John Swinney, Scottish businessman and politician, Deputy First Minister of Scotland
  • 1965 – Patricio Pouchulu, Argentinian architect and educator
  • 1966 – Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian footballer
  • 1966 – Marc Ford, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1967 – Dana Barros, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Michael Eisen, American biologist and academic
  • 1967 – Olga Tañón, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Ted Washington, American football player
  • 1969 – Dirk Muschiol, German footballer
  • 1970 – Monty Brown, American football player and wrestler
  • 1970 – Gerry Creaney, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Nick Garrett, English singer
  • 1970 – Szilveszter Csollány, Hungarian gymnast
  • 1970 – Ricardo Rincón, Mexican-American baseball player
  • 1970 – Ricky Schroder, American actor
  • 1971 – Franck Esposito, French swimmer
  • 1971 – Danie Mellor, Australian painter and sculptor
  • 1971 – Bo Outlaw, American basketball player
  • 1971 – Valensia, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1972 – Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish ice hockey player and golfer
  • 1972 – Aaron Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Valentina Cervi, Italian actress
  • 1974 – Sergei Gonchar, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Darren Turner, English racing driver
  • 1974 – David Zdrilic, Australian footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Jasey-Jay Anderson, Canadian snowboarder
  • 1975 – Lou Bega, German singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Bruce Dyer, English footballer
  • 1975 – Tatiana Navka, Russian ice dancer
  • 1976 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1976 – Patrik Eliáš, Czech-American ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Glenn Howerton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Margus Tsahkna, Estonian lawyer and politician
  • 1978 – Arron Asham, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer
  • 1978 – Raemon Sluiter, Dutch tennis player
  • 1978 – Keydrick Vincent, American football player
  • 1979 – Gréta Arn, Hungarian tennis player
  • 1979 – Baron Davis, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Tony Lundon, Irish singer-songwriter, producer, and dancer
  • 1979 – Meghann Shaughnessy, American tennis player
  • 1980 – Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Jason Maguire, Irish jockey
  • 1980 – Alan Melikdjanian, American independent filmmaker and YouTuber
  • 1980 – Quentin Richardson, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Nat Borchers, American soccer player
  • 1981 – Gemma Doyle, Scottish politician
  • 1982 – Nellie McKay, British-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress
  • 1983 – Claudio Bravo, Chilean footballer
  • 1983 – Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
  • 1983 – Nicole Cooke, Welsh cyclist
  • 1983 – Hunter Pence, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Jarmo Ahjupera, Estonian footballer
  • 1984 – Anders Lindegaard, Danish footballer
  • 1985 – Anna Jennings-Edquist, Australian actress, director, and playwright
  • 1985 – Algo Kärp, Estonian skier
  • 1985 – Cody Nickson, American reality television personality
  • 1986 – Michael Bingham, American-English sprinter
  • 1986 – Lorenzo Cain, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Brandon Hardesty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1987 – Massimiliano Pesenti, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Allison Weiss, American singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Anderson, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Petteri Koponen, Finnish basketball player
  • 1988 – Allison Williams, American actress and singer
  • 1989 – Ryan Bailey, American sprinter
  • 1989 – Dong Dong, Chinese trampolinist
  • 1989 – Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova, Belarusian long jumper
  • 1989 – Josh Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Vladislav Yegin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Anastasija Sevastova, a professional tennis player from Latvia
  • 1991 – Akeem Adams, Trinidadian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1991 – Ulises Dávila, Mexican footballer
  • 1991 – Josh Gordon, American football player
  • 1992 – Denis Kudryavtsev, Russian hurdler
  • 1992 – Jordan Silk, Australian cricketer
  • 1993 – Tony Wroten, American basketball player
  • 1994 – Ángelo Henríquez, Chilean footballer
  • 1994 – Elvis Merzļikins, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1997 – Kyle Walker-Peters, English footballer

Deaths on April 13

  • 548 – Lý Nam Đế, Vietnamese emperor (b. 503)
  • 585 – Hermenegild, Visigothic prince and saint
  • 799 – Paul the Deacon, Italian monk and historian (b. 720)
  • 814 – Krum, khan of the Bulgarian Khanate
  • 862 – Donald I, king of the Picts (b. 812)
  • 989 – Bardas Phokas, Byzantine general
  • 1035 – Herbert I, Count of Maine
  • 1093 – Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1030)
  • 1113 – Ida of Lorraine, saint and noblewoman (b. c. 1040)
  • 1138 – Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
  • 1213 – Guy of Thouars, regent of Brittany
  • 1275 – Eleanor of England (b. 1215)
  • 1367 – John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tibetot (b. 1313)
  • 1592 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor (b. 1511)
  • 1605 – Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (b. 1551)
  • 1612 – Sasaki Kojirō, Japanese samurai (b. 1585)
  • 1635 – Fakhr-al-Din II, Ottoman prince (b. 1572)
  • 1638 – Henri, Duke of Rohan (b. 1579)
  • 1641 – Richard Montagu, English bishop (b. 1577)
  • 1695 – Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (b. 1621)
  • 1716 – Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, English admiral and politician (b. 1648)
  • 1722 – Charles Leslie, Irish priest and theologian (b. 1650)
  • 1793 – Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French botanist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1763)
  • 1794 – Nicolas Chamfort, French playwright and poet (b. 1741)
  • 1826 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1763)
  • 1853 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist and academic (b. 1788)
  • 1853 – James Iredell, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of North Carolina (b. 1788)
  • 1855 – Henry De la Beche, English geologist and palaeontologist (b. 1796)
  • 1868 – Tewodros II of Ethiopia (b. 1818)
  • 1880 – Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist and author (b. 1813)
  • 1882 – Bruno Bauer, German historian and philosopher (b. 1809)
  • 1886 – John Humphrey Noyes, American religious leader, founded the Oneida Community (b. 1811)
  • 1890 – Samuel J. Randall, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 33rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1828)
  • 1899 – James Service, Scottish-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Victoria (b. 1823)
  • 1909 – Whitley Stokes, Anglo-Irish lawyer and scholar (b. 1830)
  • 1910 – William Quiller Orchardson, Scottish-English painter and educator (b. 1835)
  • 1911 – John McLane, Scottish-American politician, 50th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1852)
  • 1911 – George Washington Glick, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Kansas (b. 1827)
  • 1912 – Takuboku Ishikawa, Japanese poet and author (b. 1886)
  • 1917 – Diamond Jim Brady, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1856)
  • 1918 – Lavr Kornilov, Russian general (b. 1870)
  • 1927 – Georg Voigt, German politician, Mayor of Frankfurt (b. 1866)
  • 1936 – Konstantinos Demertzis, Greek politician 129th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)
  • 1938 – Grey Owl, English-Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1888)
  • 1941 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (b. 1863)
  • 1941 – William Twaits, Canadian soccer player (b. 1879)
  • 1942 – Henk Sneevliet, Dutch politician (b. 1883)
  • 1942 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (b. 1879)
  • 1944 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (b. 1857)
  • 1945 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (b. 1874)
  • 1954 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (b. 1880)
  • 1954 – Angus Lewis Macdonald, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1890)
  • 1956 – Emil Nolde, Danish-German painter and educator (b. 1867)
  • 1959 – Eduard van Beinum, Dutch pianist, violinist, and conductor (b. 1901)
  • 1961 – John A. Bennett, American soldier (b. 1935)
  • 1962 – Culbert Olson, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of California (b. 1876)
  • 1966 – Abdul Salam Arif, Iraqi colonel and politician, 2nd President of Iraq (b. 1921)
  • 1966 – Carlo Carrà, Italian painter (b. 1881)
  • 1966 – Georges Duhamel, French soldier and author (b. 1884)
  • 1967 – Nicole Berger, French actress (b. 1934)
  • 1969 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (b. 1901)
  • 1971 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
  • 1971 – Juhan Smuul, Estonian author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 1975 – Larry Parks, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
  • 1975 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian soldier, academic, and politician, 1st President of Chad (b. 1918)
  • 1978 – Jack Chambers, Canadian painter and director (b. 1931)
  • 1978 – Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian educator and women’s rights activist (b. 1900)
  • 1980 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (b. 1956)
  • 1983 – Gerry Hitchens, English footballer (b. 1934)
  • 1983 – Theodore Stephanides, Greek physician, author, and poet (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American harp player and musicologist (b. 1911)
  • 1988 – Jean Gascon, Canadian actor and director (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1923)
  • 1992 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (b. 1921)
  • 1992 – Daniel Pollock, Australian actor (b. 1968)
  • 1993 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Leila Mackinlay, English author and educator (b. 1910)
  • 1997 – Bryant Bowles, American soldier and activist, founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – Alan Cooley, Australian public servant (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – Dorothy Frooks, American author and actress (b. 1896)
  • 1997 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (b. 1903)
  • 1998 – Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and base jumper (b. 1960)
  • 1999 – Ortvin Sarapu, Estonian-New Zealand chess player and author (b. 1924)
  • 1999 – Willi Stoph, German engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of East Germany (b. 1914)
  • 2000 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 2000 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (b. 1910)
  • 2004 – Caron Keating, Northern Irish television host (b. 1962)
  • 2005 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2005 – Johnnie Johnson, American pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Phillip Pavia, American painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
  • 2005 – Philippe Volter, Belgian actor and director (b. 1959)
  • 2006 – Bill Baker, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (b. 1911)
  • 2006 – Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2009 – Mark Fidrych, American baseball player (b. 1954)
  • 2009 – Bruce Snyder, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
  • 2009 – George Feigley, American sex cult leader, convicted rapist and two-time prison escapee (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – William B. Buffum, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Lebanon (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Cecil Chaudhry, Pakistani pilot, academic, and activist (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Shūichi Higurashi, Japanese illustrator (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – David S. Smith, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Sweden (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Robert Wigmore, Cook Islander politician, 14th Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Chi Cheng, American bass player (b. 1970)
  • 2013 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Dean Drummond, American composer and conductor (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Lin Yang-kang, Taiwanese politician, 29th Vice Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Fred Enke, American football player (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Ernesto Laclau, Argentinian-Spanish philosopher and theorist (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Michael Ruppert, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Rafał Sznajder, Polish fencer (b. 1972)
  • 2015 – Gerald Calabrese, American basketball player and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Ronnie Carroll, Irish singer and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Thelma Coyne Long, Australian tennis player and captain (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Günter Grass, German novelist, poet, playwright, and illustrator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Herb Trimpe, American author and illustrator (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Nera White, American basketball player (b. 1935)
  • 2017 – Dan Rooney, American football executive and former United States Ambassador to Ireland (b. 1932)
  • 2018 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (b. 1945)
  • 2019 – Neus Català, Anti-fascist activist (b. 1915)
  • 2019 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand athlete (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on April 13

  • Christian feast day:
    • Hermenegild
    • Blessed Ida of Louvain
    • Pope Martin I
    • April 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Jefferson’s Birthday (United States)
  • Katyn Memorial Day (Poland)
  • South and Southeast Asian New Year. (see April 14)
  • Teacher’s Day (Ecuador)
  • Unfairly Prosecuted Persons Day (Slovakia)

April 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
  • 1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
  • 1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: French forces led by Gaston de Foix win the Battle of Ravenna.
  • 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: A French army defeats Habsburg forces at the Battle of Ceresole, but fails to exploit its victory.
  • 1689 – William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Great Britain.
  • 1713 – War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War): Treaty of Utrecht.
  • 1727 – Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
  • 1809 – An incomplete British victory over the French fleet at the Battle of the Basque Roads results in the court-martial of James, Lord Gambier.
  • 1814 – The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time.
  • 1856 – Second Battle of Rivas: Juan Santamaría burns down the hostel where William Walker’s filibusters are holed up.
  • 1868 – Former shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.
  • 1876 – The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.
  • 1881 – Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.
  • 1908 – SMS Blücher, the last armored cruiser to be built by the Imperial German Navy, is launched.
  • 1909 – The city of Tel Aviv is founded.
  • 1921 – Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.
  • 1945 – World War II: American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.
  • 1951 – Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
  • 1951 – The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
  • 1955 – The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
  • 1957 – United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
  • 1961 – The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
  • 1963 – Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all Christians instead of only Catholics, and which described the conditions for world peace in human terms.
  • 1964 – Brazilian Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco is elected President by the National Congress.
  • 1965 – The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people.
  • 1968 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
  • 1968 – Assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke, leader of the German student movement.
  • 1970 – Apollo 13 is launched.
  • 1976 – The Apple I is created.
  • 1977 – London Transport’s Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched.
  • 1979 – Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.
  • 1981 – A massive riot in Brixton, south London results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.
  • 1986 – FBI Miami Shootout: A gun battle in broad daylight in Dade County, Florida between two bank/armored car robbers and pursuing FBI agents. During the firefight, FBI agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed, while five other agents were wounded. As a result, the popular .40 S&W cartridge was developed.
  • 1987 – The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan.
  • 1990 – Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
  • 1993 – Four hundred fifty prisoners rioted at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and continued to do so for ten days, citing grievances related to prison conditions, as well as the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis) against their religious beliefs.
  • 2001 – The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, China after a collision with a J-8 fighter, is released.
  • 2002 – The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.
  • 2002 – Over two hundred thousand people march in Caracas towards the Presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chávez. Nineteen protesters are killed.
  • 2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces Iran’s claim to have successfully enriched uranium.
  • 2007 – Algiers bombings: Two bombings in Algiers kill 33 people and wound a further 222 others.
  • 2011 – An explosion in the Minsk Metro, Belarus kills 15 people and injures 204 others.
  • 2012 – A pair of great earthquakes occur in the Wharton Basin west of Sumatra in Indonesia. The maximum Mercalli intensity of this strike-slip doublet earthquake was VII (Very strong). Ten were killed, twelve were injured, and a non-destructive tsunami was observed on the island of Nias.
  • 2018 – An Ilyushin Il-76 which was owned and operated by the Algerian Air Force crashes near Boufarik, Algeria, killing 257.

Births on April 11

  • 145 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 211)
  • 1184 – William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg (d. 1213)
  • 1348 – Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385)
  • 1357 – John I of Portugal (d. 1433)
  • 1370 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1428)
  • 1374 – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, heir to the throne of England (d. 1398)
  • 1493 – George I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1531)
  • 1591 – Bartholomeus Strobel, Silezian painter (d. 1650)
  • 1592 – John Eliot, English lawyer and politician (d. 1632)
  • 1644 – Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1724)
  • 1658 – James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish peer (d. 1712)
  • 1683 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer and conductor (d. 1738)
  • 1715 – John Alcock, English organist and composer (d. 1806)
  • 1721 – David Zeisberger, Czech-American clergyman and missionary (d. 1808)
  • 1722 – Christopher Smart, English actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1771)
  • 1749 – Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, French miniaturist and portrait painter (d. 1803)
  • 1755 – James Parkinson, English surgeon, geologist, and paleontologist (d. 1824)
  • 1770 – George Canning, Irish-English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1827)
  • 1794 – Edward Everett, English-American educator and politician, 15th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1865)
  • 1798 – Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1854)
  • 1819 – Charles Hallé, German-English pianist and conductor (d. 1895)
  • 1825 – Ferdinand Lassalle, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1864)
  • 1827 – Jyotirao Phule, Indian scholar, philosopher, and activist (d. 1890)
  • 1854 – Hugh Massie, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
  • 1856 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1903)
  • 1859 – Stefanos Thomopoulos, Greek historian and author (d. 1939)
  • 1862 – William Wallace Campbell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1938)
  • 1862 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 44th United States Secretary of State (d. 1948)
  • 1864 – Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (d. 1943)
  • 1866 – Bernard O’Dowd, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1953)
  • 1867 – Mark Keppel, American educator (d. 1928)
  • 1869 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor, designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal (d. 1943)
  • 1871 – Gyula Kellner, Hungarian runner (d. 1940)
  • 1873 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1955)
  • 1876 – Paul Henry, Irish painter (d. 1958)
  • 1876 – Ivane Javakhishvili, Georgian historian and academic (d. 1940)
  • 1879 – Bernhard Schmidt, Estonian-German astronomer and optician (d. 1935)
  • 1887 – Jamini Roy, Indian painter (d. 1972)
  • 1893 – Dean Acheson, American lawyer and politician, 51st United States Secretary of State (d. 1971)
  • 1896 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1967)
  • 1899 – Percy Lavon Julian, African-American chemist and academic (d. 1975)
  • 1900 – Sándor Márai, Hungarian journalist and author (d. 1989)
  • 1903 – Misuzu Kaneko, Japanese poet (d. 1930)
  • 1904 – K. L. Saigal, Indian singer and actor (d. 1947)
  • 1905 – Attila József, Hungarian poet and educator (d. 1937)
  • 1906 – Dale Messick, American author and illustrator (d. 2005)
  • 1907 – Paul Douglas, American actor (d. 1959)
  • 1908 – Jane Bolin, American lawyer and judge (d. 2007)
  • 1908 – Masaru Ibuka, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Dan Maskell, English tennis player and sportscaster (d. 1992)
  • 1908 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (d. 1997)
  • 1910 – António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician, 14th President of Portugal (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – John Levy, American bassist and businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1913 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (d. 2006)
  • 1914 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator, director, and producer (d. 1987)
  • 1914 – Robert Stanfield, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2003)
  • 1914 – Dorothy Lewis Bernstein, American mathematician (d. 1988)
  • 1916 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian-Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1983)
  • 1916 – Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (d. 2001)
  • 1917 – David Westheimer, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2005)
  • 1918 – Richard Wainwright, English soldier and politician (d. 2003)
  • 1919 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Emilio Colombo, Italian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – William Royer, American soldier and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Jim Hearn, American baseball player (d. 1998)
  • 1921 – Jack Rayner, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2008)
  • 1922 – Arved Viirlaid, Estonian-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – George J. Maloof, Sr., American businessman (d. 1980)
  • 1924 – Mohammad Naseem, Pakistani-English activist and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Yuriy Lituyev, Russian hurdler and commander (d. 2000)
  • 1925 – Viola Liuzzo, American civil rights activist (d. 1965)
  • 1925 – Viktor Masing, Estonian botanist and ecologist (d. 2001)
  • 1925 – Pierre Péladeau, Canadian businessman, founded Quebecor (d. 1997)
  • 1926 – David Manker Abshire, American commander and diplomat, United States Permanent Representative to NATO (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Victor Bouchard, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Karl Rebane, Estonian physicist and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Lokesh Chandra, Indian historian
  • 1928 – Ethel Kennedy, American philanthropist
  • 1928 – Edwin Pope, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
  • 1928 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Nicholas F. Brady, American businessman and politician, 68th United States Secretary of the Treasury
  • 1930 – Walter Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2018)
  • 1930 – Anton LaVey, American occultist, founded the Church of Satan (d. 1997)
  • 1931 – Lewis Jones, Welsh rugby player and coach
  • 1932 – Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer
  • 1933 – Tony Brown, American journalist and academic
  • 1934 – Mark Strand, Canadian-born American poet, essayist, and translator (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Ron Pember, English actor, director and playwright
  • 1935 – Richard Berry, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1936 – Brian Noble, English bishop (d. 2019)
  • 1937 – Jill Gascoine, English actress and author
  • 1938 – Gerry Baker, American soccer player and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1938 – Michael Deaver, American politician, Deputy White House Chief of Staff (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Reatha King, American chemist and businesswoman
  • 1939 – Luther Johnson, American singer and guitarist
  • 1939 – Louise Lasser, American actress
  • 1940 – Col Firmin, Australian politician (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Thomas Harris, American author and screenwriter
  • 1940 – Władysław Komar, Polish shot putter and actor (d. 1998)
  • 1941 – Ellen Goodman, American journalist and author
  • 1941 – Shirley Stelfox, English actress (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Anatoly Berezovoy, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Hattie Gossett, American writer
  • 1942 – James Underwood, English pathologist and academic
  • 1943 – John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich, English businessman and politician
  • 1943 – Harley Race, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2019)
  • 1944 – Peter Barfuß, German footballer
  • 1944 – John Milius, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1945 – John Krebs, Baron Krebs, English zoologist and academic
  • 1946 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1946 – Bob Harris, English journalist and radio host
  • 1947 – Lev Bulat, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1947 – Uli Edel, German director and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Frank Mantooth, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
  • 1947 – Peter Riegert, American actor, screenwriter and film director
  • 1947 – Michael T. Wright, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1949 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1950 – Bill Irwin, American actor and clown
  • 1951 – Paul Fox, English singer and guitarist (d. 2007)
  • 1952 – Nancy Honeytree, American singer and guitarist
  • 1952 – Indira Samarasekera, Sri Lankan engineer and academic
  • 1952 – Peter Windsor, English-Australian journalist and sportscaster
  • 1953 – Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium
  • 1953 – Andrew Wiles, English mathematician and academic
  • 1954 – Abdullah Atalar, Turkish engineer and academic
  • 1954 – Aleksandr Averin, Azerbaijani cyclist and coach
  • 1954 – Francis Lickerish, English guitarist and composer
  • 1954 – David Perrett, Scottish psychologist and academic
  • 1954 – Ian Redmond, English biologist and conservationist
  • 1954 – Willie Royster, American baseball player (d. 2015)
  • 1955 – Kevin Brady, American lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – Michael Callen, American singer-songwriter and AIDS activist (d. 1993)
  • 1955 – Micheal Ray Richardson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1958 – Stuart Adamson, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
  • 1958 – Lyudmila Kondratyeva, Russian sprinter
  • 1959 – Pierre Lacroix, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1959 – Ana María Polo, Cuban-American lawyer and judge
  • 1959 – Zahid Maleque, Bangladeshi politician
  • 1960 – Jeremy Clarkson, English journalist and television presenter
  • 1961 – Vincent Gallo, American actor, director, producer, and musician
  • 1961 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1961 – Nobuaki Kakuda, Japanese martial artist
  • 1962 – Franck Ducheix, French fencer
  • 1962 – Mark Lawson, English journalist and author
  • 1963 – Billy Bowden, New Zealand cricketer and umpire
  • 1963 – Waldemar Fornalik, Polish footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Elizabeth Smylie, Australian tennis player
  • 1964 – Steve Azar, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – John Cryer, English journalist and politician
  • 1964 – Johann Sebastian Paetsch, American cellist
  • 1964 – Bret Saberhagen, American baseball player and coach
  • 1964 – Patrick Sang, Kenyan runner
  • 1966 – Steve Scarsone, American baseball player and manager
  • 1966 – Shin Seung-hun, South Korean singer-songwriter
  • 1966 – Lisa Stansfield, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1968 – Sergei Lukyanenko, Kazakh-Russian journalist and author
  • 1969 – Cerys Matthews, Welsh singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Michael von Grünigen, Swiss skier
  • 1970 – Trevor Linden, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1970 – Delroy Pearson, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1971 – John Leech, English politician
  • 1971 – Oliver Riedel, German bass player
  • 1972 – Balls Mahoney, American wrestler (d. 2016)
  • 1972 – Allan Théo, French singer
  • 1972 – Jason Varitek, American baseball player and manager
  • 1973 – Jennifer Esposito, American actress
  • 1973 – Olivier Magne, French rugby player
  • 1974 – Àlex Corretja, Spanish tennis player and coach
  • 1974 – Ashot Danielyan, Armenian weightlifter
  • 1974 – David Jassy, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Zöe Lucker, English actress
  • 1974 – Tom Thacker, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1974 – Trot Nixon, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Olga Hostáková, Czech tennis player
  • 1975 – Walid Soliman, Tunisian author and translator
  • 1976 – Kelvim Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1977 – Ivonne Teichmann, German runner
  • 1978 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (d. 2007)
  • 1979 – Malcolm Christie, English footballer
  • 1979 – Sebastien Grainger, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Michel Riesen, Swiss ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Josh Server, American actor
  • 1980 – Keiji Tamada, Japanese footballer
  • 1980 – Mark Teixeira, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
  • 1981 – Alexandre Burrows, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Veronica Pyke, Australian cricketer
  • 1982 – Ian Bell, English cricketer
  • 1982 – Peeter Kümmel, Estonian skier
  • 1983 – Jennifer Heil, Canadian skier
  • 1983 – Rubén Palazuelos, Spanish footballer
  • 1983 – Nicky Pastorelli, Dutch race car driver
  • 1984 – Kelli Garner, American actress
  • 1984 – Nikola Karabatić, French handball player
  • 1985 – Pablo Hernández Domínguez, Spanish footballer
  • 1985 – Will Minson, Australian footballer
  • 1986 – Sarodj Bertin, Haitian model and human rights lawyer
  • 1986 – Dai Greene, Welsh hurdler
  • 1986 – Lena Schöneborn, German pentathlete
  • 1987 – Joss Stone, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1987 – Lights, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Leland Irving, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Torrin Lawrence, American sprinter (d. 2014)
  • 1989 – Zola Jesus, American singer
  • 1990 – Dimitrios Anastasopoulos, Greek footballer
  • 1990 – Thulani Serero, South African footballer
  • 1991 – Thiago Alcântara, Spanish footballer
  • 1991 – Brennan Poole, American racing driver
  • 1996 – Dele Alli, English international footballer
  • 1997 – Georgia Bohl, Australian swimmer
  • 1997 – Miriam Kolodziejová, a Czech tennis player

Deaths on April 11

  • 618 – Yang Guang, Chinese emperor of the Sui Dynasty (b. 569)
  • 678 – Donus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 610)
  • 924 – Herman I, chancellor and archbishop of Cologne
  • 1034 – Romanos III Argyros, Byzantine emperor (b. 968)
  • 1077 – Anawrahta, king of Burma and founder of the Pagan Empire (b. 1014)
  • 1079 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, bishop of Kraków (b. 1030)
  • 1165 – Stephen IV, king of Hungary and Croatia
  • 1240 – Llywelyn the Great, Welsh prince (b. 1172)
  • 1447 – Henry Beaufort, Cardinal, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1377)
  • 1512 – Gaston de Foix, French military commander (b. 1489)
  • 1554 – Thomas Wyatt the Younger, English rebel leader (b. 1521)
  • 1587 – Thomas Bromley, English lord chancellor (b. 1530)
  • 1609 – John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, English noble (b. 1533)
  • 1612 – Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish historian and author (b. 1535)
  • 1612 – Edward Wightman, English minister and martyr (b. 1566)
  • 1626 – Marino Ghetaldi, Ragusan mathematician and physicist (b. 1568)
  • 1712 – Richard Simon, French priest and critic (b. 1638)
  • 1723 – John Robinson, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1650)
  • 1783 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Polish-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1718)
  • 1798 – Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet and academic (b. 1725)
  • 1856 – Juan Santamaría, Costa Rican soldier (b. 1831)
  • 1861 – Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet and composer (b. 1824)
  • 1873 – Edward Canby, American general (b. 1817)
  • 1890 – David de Jahacob Lopez Cardozo, Dutch Talmudist (b. 1808)
  • 1890 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (b. 1862)
  • 1894 – Constantin Lipsius, German architect and theorist (b. 1832)
  • 1895 – Julius Lothar Meyer, German chemist (b. 1830)
  • 1902 – Wade Hampton III, American general and politician, 77th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1818)
  • 1903 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (b. 1878)
  • 1906 – James Anthony Bailey, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1847)
  • 1906 – Francis Pharcellus Church, American journalist and publisher, co-founded Armed Forces Journal and The Galaxy Magazine (b. 1839)
  • 1908 – Henry Bird, English chess player and author (b. 1829)
  • 1916 – Richard Harding Davis, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
  • 1918 – Otto Wagner, Austrian architect and urban planner (b. 1841)
  • 1926 – Luther Burbank, American botanist and academic (b. 1849)
  • 1939 – Kurtdereli Mehmet, Turkish wrestler (b. 1864)
  • 1953 – Kid Nichols, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
  • 1954 – Paul Specht, American violinist and bandleader (b. 1895)
  • 1958 – Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter and educator (b. 1875)
  • 1960 – Rosa Grünberg, Swedish actress (b. 1878)
  • 1962 – Ukichiro Nakaya, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1900)
  • 1962 – George Poage, American hurdler and educator (b. 1880)
  • 1967 – Thomas Farrell, American general (b. 1891)
  • 1967 – Donald Sangster, Jamaican lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1911)
  • 1970 – Cathy O’Donnell, American actress (b. 1923)
  • 1970 – John O’Hara, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1905)
  • 1974 – Ernst Ziegler, German actor (b. 1894)
  • 1977 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1977 – Phanishwar Nath ‘Renu’, Indian author and activist (b. 1921)
  • 1980 – Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, Turkish journalist and producer (b. 1935)
  • 1981 – Caroline Gordon, American author and critic (b. 1895)
  • 1983 – Dolores del Río, Mexican actress (b. 1904)
  • 1984 – Edgar V. Saks, Estonian historian and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1910)
  • 1985 – Bunny Ahearne, Irish-born English businessman (b. 1900)
  • 1985 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (b. 1898)
  • 1985 – Enver Hoxha, Albanian educator and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1908)
  • 1987 – Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1903)
  • 1987 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (b. 1919)
  • 1990 – Harold Ballard, Canadian businessman (b. 1903)
  • 1991 – Walker Cooper, American baseball player and manager (b. 1915)
  • 1991 – Bruno Hoffmann. German glass harp player (b. 1913)
  • 1992 – James Brown, American actor and singer (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Eve Merriam, American author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 1992 – Alejandro Obregón, Colombian painter, sculptor, and engraver (b. 1920)
  • 1996 – Jessica Dubroff, American pilot (b. 1988)
  • 1997 – Muriel McQueen Fergusson, Canadian lawyer and politician, Canadian Speaker of the Senate (b. 1899)
  • 1997 – Wang Xiaobo, contemporary Chinese novelist and essayist (b. 1952)
  • 1999 – William H. Armstrong, American author and educator (b. 1911)
  • 2000 – Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (b. 1945)
  • 2001 – Harry Secombe, Welsh-English actor (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Cecil Howard Green, English-American geophysicist and businessman, founded Texas Instruments (b. 1900)
  • 2005 – André François, Romanian-French cartoonist, painter, and sculptor (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer and coach (b. 1907)
  • 2006 – June Pointer, American singer (b. 1953)
  • 2006 – DeShaun Holton, American rapper and actor (b. 1973)
  • 2007 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (b. 1922)
  • 2007 – Loïc Leferme, French diver (b. 1970)
  • 2007 – Janet McDonald, American lawyer and author (b. 1954)
  • 2007 – Ronald Speirs, Scottish-American colonel (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1922)
  • 2008 – Merlin German, American sergeant (b. 1985)
  • 2009 – Gerda Gilboe, Danish actress and singer (b. 1914)
  • 2009 – Vishnu Prabhakar, Indian author and playwright (b. 1912)
  • 2009 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (b. 1927)
  • 2010 – Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (b. 1948)
  • 2011 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (b. 1981)
  • 2012 – Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (b. 1916)
  • 2012 – Roger Caron, Canadian criminal and author (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Tippy Dye, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)
  • 2012 – Hal McKusick, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and flute player (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Agustin Roman, American bishop (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Don Blackman, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1953)
  • 2013 – Grady Hatton, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Thomas Hemsley, English actor and singer (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Hilary Koprowski, Polish-American virologist and immunologist (b. 1916)
  • 2013 – Gilles Marchal, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2013 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Clorindo Testa, Italian-Argentinian architect (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Jonathan Winters, American comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Edna Doré, English actress (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Bill Henry, American baseball player (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Lou Hudson, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1944)
  • 2014 – Myer S. Kripke, American rabbi and scholar (b. 1914)
  • 2014 – Sergey Nepobedimy, Russian engineer (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
  • 2015 – Jimmy Gunn, American football player (b. 1948)
  • 2015 – Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Bangladeshi journalist and politician (b. 1952)
  • 2015 – François Maspero, French journalist and author (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Hanut Singh, Indian general (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Tekena Tamuno, Nigerian historian and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2017 – J. Geils, American singer and guitarist (b. 1946)
  • 2017 – Mark Wainberg, Canadian researcher and HIV/AIDS activist (b. 1945)
  • 2020 – John Horton Conway, English mathematician (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances on April 11

  • Christian feast day:
    • Antipas of Pergamum (Greek Orthodox Church)
    • Gemma Galgani
    • Godeberta
    • Guthlac of Crowland
    • George Selwyn (Anglicanism)
    • Stanislaus of Szczepanów
    • April 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Juan Santamaría Day, anniversary of his death in the Second Battle of Rivas. (Costa Rica)
  • International Louie Louie Day
  • World Parkinson’s Day

April 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 451 – Attila the Hun sacks the town of Metz and attacks other cities in Gaul.
  • 529 – First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
  • 611 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul sacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico.
  • 1141 – Empress Matilda became the first female ruler of England, adopting the title ‘Lady of the English’.
  • 1348 – Charles University is founded in Prague.
  • 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.
  • 1541 – Francis Xavier leaves Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies.
  • 1724 – Premiere performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion, BWV 245, at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig.
  • 1767 – End of Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67).
  • 1776 – Captain John Barry and the USS Lexington captures the Edward.
  • 1788 – American pioneers to the Northwest Territory establish Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory.
  • 1789 – Selim III became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
  • 1798 – The Mississippi Territory is organized from disputed territory claimed by both the United States and Spain. It is expanded in 1804 and again in 1812.
  • 1805 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Corps of Discovery breaks camp among the Mandan tribe and resumes its journey West along the Missouri River.
  • 1805 – German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Third Symphony, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
  • 1827 – John Walker, an English chemist, sells the first friction match that he had invented the previous year.
  • 1829 – Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, commences translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe.
  • 1831 – Emperor Pedro I of Brazil resigns. He goes to his native Portugal to become King Pedro IV.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: The Union’s Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio defeat the Confederate Army of Mississippi near Shiloh, Tennessee.
  • 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation, is assassinated by a Fenian activist.
  • 1890 – Completion of the first Lake Biwa Canal.
  • 1906 – Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
  • 1906 – The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.
  • 1922 – The United States Secretary of the Interior leases federal petroleum reserves to private oil companies on excessively generous terms.
  • 1927 – The first long-distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).
  • 1933 – Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the XXI amendment. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.)
  • 1940 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
  • 1943 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Terebovlia, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress and march through the city to the nearby village of Plebanivka, where they are shot and buried in ditches.
  • 1943 – Ioannis Rallis becomes collaborationist Prime Minister of Greece during the Axis Occupation.
  • 1945 – World War II: The battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by American aircraft during Operation Ten-Go.
  • 1945 – World War II: Visoko is liberated by the 7th, 9th, and 17th Krajina brigades from the Tenth division of Yugoslav Partisan forces.
  • 1948 – The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
  • 1949 – The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific opened on Broadway; it would run for 1,925 performances and win ten Tony Awards.
  • 1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his “domino theory” speech during a news conference.
  • 1955 – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
  • 1964 – IBM announces the System/360.
  • 1964 – A bulldozer kills Rev. Bruce W. Klunder, a civil rights activist, during a school segregation protest in Cleveland, Ohio, sparking a riot.
  • 1965 – Representatives of the National Congress of American Indians testify before members of the US Senate against the termination of the Colville tribe in Washington DC.
  • 1968 – Motor racing world champion Jim Clark is killed in an accident during a Formula Two race at Hockenheim.
  • 1969 – The Internet’s symbolic birth date: Publication of RFC 1.
  • 1971 – President Richard Nixon announces his decision to quicken the pace of Vietnamization.
  • 1976 – Member of Parliament and suspected spy John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party (UK) after being arrested for faking his own death.
  • 1977 – German Federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light.
  • 1978 – Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter.
  • 1980 – During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran.
  • 1983 – During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk.
  • 1989 – Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway killing 42 sailors.
  • 1990 – Iran–Contra affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal (the conviction is later reversed on appeal).
  • 1990 – A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry Scandinavian Star, killing 159 people.
  • 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda.
  • 1994 – Auburn Calloway attempts to destroy Federal Express Flight 705 in order to allow his family to benefit from his life insurance policy.
  • 1995 – First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
  • 1999 – The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.
  • 2001 – Mars Odyssey is launched.
  • 2003 – U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein’s regime falls two days later.
  • 2009 – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.
  • 2009 – Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent.
  • 2017 – A man deliberately drives a hijacked truck into a crowd of people, killing five people and injuring fifteen others.

Births on April 7

  • 1206 – Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1253)
  • 1330 – John, 3rd Earl of Kent, English nobleman (d. 1352)
  • 1470 – Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (d. 1498)
  • 1506 – Francis Xavier, Spanish missionary and saint, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1552)
  • 1539 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 1584)
  • 1613 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (d. 1675)
  • 1644 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (d. 1730)
  • 1648 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1721)
  • 1652 – Pope Clement XII (d. 1740)
  • 1713 – Nicola Sala, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1801)
  • 1718 – Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author (d. 1800)
  • 1727 – Michel Adanson, French botanist, entomologist, and mycologist (d. 1806)
  • 1763 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (d. 1846)
  • 1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet (d. 1850)
  • 1772 – Charles Fourier, French philosopher and author (d. 1837)
  • 1780 – William Ellery Channing, American preacher and theologian (d. 1842)
  • 1803 – James Curtiss, American journalist and politician, 11th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1859)
  • 1803 – Flora Tristan, French author and activist (d. 1844)
  • 1811 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1881)
  • 1817 – Francesco Selmi, Italian chemist and patriot (d. 1881)
  • 1848 – Randall Davidson, Scottish archbishop (d. 1930)
  • 1859 – Walter Camp, American football player and coach (d. 1925)
  • 1860 – Will Keith Kellogg, American businessman, founded the Kellogg Company (d. 1951)
  • 1867 – Holger Pedersen, Danish linguist and academic (d. 1953)
  • 1870 – Gustav Landauer, Jewish-German theorist and activist (d. 1919)
  • 1871 – Epifanio de los Santos, Filipino jurist, historian, and scholar (d. 1927)
  • 1873 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
  • 1874 – Frederick Carl Frieseke, German-American painter (d. 1939)
  • 1876 – Fay Moulton, American sprinter, football player, coach, and lawyer (d. 1945)
  • 1882 – Bert Ironmonger, Australian cricketer (d. 1971)
  • 1882 – Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician, 23rd Chancellor of Germany (d. 1934)
  • 1883 – Gino Severini, Italian-French painter and author (d. 1966)
  • 1884 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (d. 1963)
  • 1886 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1971)
  • 1889 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
  • 1890 – Paul Berth, Danish footballer (d. 1969)
  • 1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and activist (d. 1998)
  • 1891 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded the Lego Group (d. 1958)
  • 1893 – Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1969)
  • 1895 – John Flannagan, American soldier and sculptor (d. 1942)
  • 1895 – Margarete Schön, German actress (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – Frits Peutz, Dutch architect, designed the Glaspaleis (d. 1974)
  • 1897 – Erich Löwenhardt, Polish-German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1918)
  • 1897 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (d. 1972)
  • 1899 – Robert Casadesus, French pianist and composer (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Adolf Dymsza, Polish actor (d. 1975)
  • 1900 – Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (d. 1984)
  • 1902 – Eduard Eelma, Estonian footballer (d. 1941)
  • 1903 – M. Balasundaram, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1965)
  • 1903 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral (d. 1984)
  • 1904 – Roland Wilson, Australian economist and statistician (d. 1996)
  • 1908 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer, conductor, and bandleader (d. 1976)
  • 1908 – Pete Zaremba, American hammer thrower (d. 1994)
  • 1909 – Robert Charroux, French author and critic (d. 1978)
  • 1913 – Louise Currie, American actress (d. 2013)
  • 1913 – Charles Vanik, American soldier, judge, and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1914 – Ralph Flanagan, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1995)
  • 1915 – Stanley Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1915 – Billie Holiday, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1959)
  • 1915 – Henry Kuttner, American author (d. 1958)
  • 1916 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1917 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – Bobby Doerr, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1919 – Roger Lemelin, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 1992)
  • 1919 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Ravi Shankar, Indian-American sitar player and composer (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (d. 1992)
  • 1922 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian-English author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1925 – Chaturanan Mishra, Indian trade union leader and politician (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
  • 1927 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian-American drummer, educator, and activist (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – Leonid Shcherbakov, Russian triple jumper
  • 1928 – James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Alan J. Pakula, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1928 – James White, Northern Irish author and educator (d. 1999)
  • 1929 – Bob Denard, French soldier (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (d. 1972)
  • 1930 – Jane Priestman, English interior designer
  • 1930 – Yves Rocher, French businessman, founded the Yves Rocher Company (d. 2009)
  • 1930 – Andrew Sachs, German-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1930 – Roger Vergé, French chef and restaurateur (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (d. 1989)
  • 1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author
  • 1932 – Cal Smith, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Wayne Rogers, American actor, investor, and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist (d. 2004)
  • 1934 – Ian Richardson, Scottish-English actor (d. 2007)
  • 1935 – Bobby Bare, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1935 – Hodding Carter III, American journalist and politician, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
  • 1937 – Charlie Thomas, American singer
  • 1938 – Jerry Brown, American lawyer and politician, 34th and 39th Governor of California
  • 1938 – Spencer Dryden, American drummer (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – Freddie Hubbard, American trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Iris Johansen, American author
  • 1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – David Frost, English journalist and game show host (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant (d. 1977)
  • 1939 – Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (d. 1992)
  • 1940 – Marju Lauristin, Estonian academic and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
  • 1941 – James Di Pasquale, American composer
  • 1941 – Peter Fluck, English puppet maker and illustrator
  • 1941 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (d. 2017)
  • 1942 – Jeetendra, Indian actor, TV and film producer
  • 1943 – Mick Abrahams, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Dennis Amiss, English cricketer and manager
  • 1944 – Shel Bachrach, American insurance broker, investor, businessman and philanthropist
  • 1944 – Warner Fusselle, American sportscaster (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Oshik Levi, Israeli singer and actor
  • 1944 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (d. 2002)
  • 1944 – Gerhard Schröder, German lawyer and politician, 7th Chancellor of Germany
  • 1944 – Bill Stoneman, American baseball player and manager
  • 1945 – Megas, Icelandic singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Gerry Cottle, English businessman
  • 1945 – Marilyn Friedman, American philosopher and academic
  • 1945 – Martyn Lewis, Welsh journalist and author
  • 1945 – Joël Robuchon, French chef and author (d. 2018)
  • 1945 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1945 – Hans van Hemert, Dutch songwriter and producer
  • 1946 – Zaid Abdul-Aziz, American basketball player
  • 1946 – Colette Besson, French runner and educator (d. 2005)
  • 1946 – Herménégilde Chiasson, Canadian poet, playwright, and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
  • 1946 – Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenian politician and diplomate
  • 1946 – Stan Winston, American special effects designer and makeup artist (d. 2008)
  • 1947 – Patricia Bennett, American singer
  • 1947 – Florian Schneider, German singer and drummer (d. 2020)
  • 1947 – Michèle Torr, French singer and author
  • 1948 – John Oates, American singer-songwriter guitarist, and producer
  • 1949 – Mitch Daniels, American academic and politician, 49th Governor of Indiana
  • 1950 – Brian J. Doyle, American press secretary
  • 1951 – Bruce Gary, American drummer (d. 2006)
  • 1951 – Janis Ian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – David Baulcombe, English geneticist and academic
  • 1952 – Jane Frederick, American hurdler and heptathlete
  • 1952 – Gilles Valiquette, Canadian actor, singer, and producer
  • 1952 – Dennis Hayden, American actor
  • 1953 – Santa Barraza, American mixed media artist
  • 1953 – Douglas Kell, English biochemist and academic
  • 1954 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong martial artist, actor, stuntman, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Tony Dorsett, American football player
  • 1955 – Tim Cochran, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1955 – Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer and journalist
  • 1956 – Annika Billström, Swedish businesswoman and politician, 16th Mayor of Stockholm
  • 1956 – Christopher Darden, American lawyer and author
  • 1956 – Georg Werthner, Austrian decathlete
  • 1957 – Kim Kap-soo, South Korean actor
  • 1957 – Thelma Walker, British politician
  • 1958 – Brian Haner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1958 – Hindrek Kesler, Estonian architect
  • 1960 – Buster Douglas, American boxer and actor
  • 1960 – Sandy Powell, English costume designer
  • 1961 – Thurl Bailey, American basketball player and actor
  • 1961 – Pascal Olmeta, French footballer
  • 1961 – Brigitte van der Burg, Tanzanian-Dutch geographer and politician
  • 1962 – Jon Cruddas, English lawyer and politician
  • 1962 – Andrew Hampsten, American cyclist
  • 1963 – Jaime de Marichalar, Spanish businessman
  • 1963 – Nick Herbert, English businessman and politician, Minister for Policing
  • 1963 – Dave Johnson, American decathlete and educator
  • 1964 – Jace Alexander, American actor and director
  • 1964 – Russell Crowe, New Zealand-Australian actor
  • 1964 – Steve Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1965 – Bill Bellamy, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1965 – Rozalie Hirs, Dutch composer and poet
  • 1965 – Alison Lapper, English painter and photographer
  • 1965 – Nenad Vučinić, Serbian-New Zealand basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Richard Gomez, Filipino actor and politician
  • 1966 – Zvika Hadar, Israeli entertainer
  • 1966 – Béla Mavrák, Hungarian tenor singer
  • 1966 – Gary Wilkinson, English snooker player
  • 1967 – Artemis Gounaki, Greek-German singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Bodo Illgner, German footballer
  • 1967 – Simone Schilder, Dutch tennis player
  • 1968 – Duncan Armstrong, Australian swimmer and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Jennifer Lynch, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Jože Možina, Slovenian historian, sociologist and journalist
  • 1968 – Vasiliy Sokov, Russian triple jumper
  • 1969 – Ricky Watters, American football player
  • 1970 – Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian pianist and educator
  • 1971 – Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (d. 2008)
  • 1971 – Victor Kraatz, German-Canadian figure skater
  • 1972 – Tim Peake, British astronaut
  • 1973 – Marco Delvecchio, Italian footballer
  • 1973 – Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Defence
  • 1973 – Carole Montillet, French skier
  • 1973 – Christian O’Connell, British radio DJ and presenter
  • 1973 – Brett Tomko, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Karin Dreijer Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1975 – Ronde Barber, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Tiki Barber, American football player and journalist
  • 1975 – Ronnie Belliard, American baseball player
  • 1975 – John Cooper, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1975 – Simon Woolford, Australian rugby league player
  • 1976 – Kevin Alejandro, American actor and producer
  • 1976 – Martin Buß, German high jumper
  • 1976 – Jessica Lee, English lawyer and politician
  • 1976 – Aaron Lohr, American actor
  • 1976 – Barbara Jane Reams, American actress
  • 1976 – Gang Qiang, Chinese anchor
  • 1978 – Jo Appleby, English soprano
  • 1978 – Duncan James, English singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1978 – Lilia Osterloh, American tennis player
  • 1979 – Adrián Beltré, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1979 – Patrick Crayton, American football player
  • 1979 – Pascal Dupuis, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Danny Sandoval, Venezuelan-American baseball player
  • 1980 – Dragan Bogavac, Montenegrin footballer
  • 1980 – Tetsuji Tamayama, Japanese actor
  • 1981 – Hitoe Arakaki, Japanese singer
  • 1981 – Kazuki Watanabe, Japanese songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
  • 1981 – Vanessa Olivarez, American singer-songwriter, and actress
  • 1981 – Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
  • 1982 – Silvana Arias, Peruvian actress
  • 1982 – Sonjay Dutt, American wrestler
  • 1982 – Kelli Young, English singer
  • 1983 – Hamish Davidson, Australian musician
  • 1983 – Franck Ribéry, French footballer
  • 1983 – Jon Stead, English footballer
  • 1983 – Jakub Smrž, Czech motorcycle rider
  • 1983 – Janar Talts, Estonian basketball player
  • 1984 – Hiroko Shimabukuro, Japanese singer
  • 1985 – KC Concepcion, Filipino actress and singer
  • 1985 – Humza Yousaf, Scottish politician
  • 1986 – Brooke Brodack, American comedian
  • 1986 – Jack Duarte, Mexican actor, singer, and guitarist
  • 1986 – Andi Fraggs, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1986 – Christian Fuchs, Austrian footballer
  • 1987 – Martín Cáceres, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1987 – Eelco Sintnicolaas, Dutch decathlete
  • 1987 – Jamar Smith, American football player
  • 1988 – Antonio Piccolo, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Ed Speleers, English actor and producer
  • 1989 – Alexa Demara, American actress, model and writer
  • 1989 – Franco Di Santo, Argentinian footballer
  • 1989 – Mitchell Pearce, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Teddy Riner, French judoka
  • 1990 – Nickel Ashmeade, Jamaican sprinter
  • 1990 – Anna Bogomazova, Russian-American kick-boxer, martial artist, and wrestler
  • 1990 – Sorana Cîrstea, Romanian tennis player
  • 1990 – Trent Cotchin, Australian footballer
  • 1991 – Luka Milivojević, Serbian footballer
  • 1991 – Anne-Marie, English singer-songwriter
  • 1992 – Andreea Acatrinei, Romanian gymnast
  • 1992 – Guilherme Negueba, Brazilian footballer
  • 1993 – Ichinojō Takashi, Mongolian sumo wrestler
  • 1994 – Johanna Allik, Estonian figure skater
  • 1994 – Aaron Gray, Australian rugby league player
  • 1996 – Emerson Hyndman, American international soccer player[5]
  • 1997 – Rafaela Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player

Deaths on April 7

  • AD 30 – Jesus Christ, (possible date of the crucifixion) (b. circa 4 BC)
  • 821 – George the Standard-Bearer, archbishop of Mytilene (b. c. 776)
  • 924 – Berengar I of Italy (b. 845)
  • 1206 – Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine
  • 1340 – Bolesław Jerzy II of Mazovia (b. 1308)
  • 1498 – Charles VIII of France (b. 1470)
  • 1499 – Galeotto I Pico, Duke of Mirandola (b. 1442)
  • 1501 – Minkhaung II, king of Ava (b. 1446)
  • 1606 – Edward Oldcorne, English martyr (b. 1561)
  • 1614 – El Greco, Greek-Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1541)
  • 1638 – Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese daimyō (b. 1576)
  • 1651 – Lennart Torstensson, Swedish field marshal and engineer (b. 1603)
  • 1658 – Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, Spanish mystic and philosopher (b. 1595)
  • 1661 – Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, English commander and politician (b. 1604)
  • 1663 – Francis Cooke, English-American settler (b. 1583)
  • 1668 – William Davenant, English poet and playwright (b. 1606)
  • 1719 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint, founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (b. 1651)
  • 1739 – Dick Turpin, English criminal (b. 1705)
  • 1747 – Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (b. 1676)
  • 1761 – Thomas Bayes, English minister and mathematician (b. 1701)
  • 1766 – Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist and critic (b. 1685)
  • 1767 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and director (b. 1715)
  • 1782 – Taksin, Thai king (b. 1734)
  • 1789 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1725)
  • 1789 – Petrus Camper, Dutch physician, anatomist, and physiologist (b. 1722)
  • 1801 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (b. 1724)
  • 1804 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian general (b. 1743)
  • 1811 – Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat and politician (b. 1757)
  • 1823 – Jacques Charles, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1746)
  • 1833 – Antoni Radziwiłł, Lithuanian composer and politician (b. 1775)
  • 1836 – William Godwin, English journalist and author (b. 1756)
  • 1849 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (b. 1777)
  • 1850 – William Lisle Bowles, English poet and critic (b. 1762)
  • 1858 – Anton Diabelli, Austrian composer and publisher (b. 1781)
  • 1868 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist, activist, and politician (b. 1825)
  • 1879 – Begum Hazrat Mahal, Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (b. 1820)
  • 1885 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist and zoologist (b. 1804)
  • 1889 – Youssef Bey Karam, Lebanese soldier and politician (b. 1823)
  • 1889 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican politician and president, 1872-1876 (b. 1823)
  • 1891 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman and politician, co-founded The Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1810)
  • 1917 – Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer and playwright (b. 1861)
  • 1918 – David Kolehmainen, Finnish wrestler (b. 1885)
  • 1918 – George E. Ohr, American potter (b. 1857)
  • 1920 – Karl Binding, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1841)
  • 1922 – James McGowen, Australian politician, 18th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1855)
  • 1928 – Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician, philosopher, and author (b. 1873)
  • 1932 – Grigore Constantinescu, Romanian priest and journalist (b. 1875)
  • 1938 – Suzanne Valadon, French painter (b. 1865)
  • 1939 – Joseph Lyons, Australian educator and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1879)
  • 1943 – Jovan Dučić, Serbian-American poet and diplomat (b. 1871)
  • 1943 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (b. 1859)
  • 1947 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (b. 1863)
  • 1949 – John Gourlay, Canadian soccer player (b. 1872)
  • 1950 – Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (b. 1883)
  • 1955 – Theda Bara, American actress (b. 1885)
  • 1956 – Fred Appleby, English runner (b. 1879)
  • 1960 – Henri Guisan, Swiss general (b. 1874)
  • 1965 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
  • 1966 – Walt Hansgen, American race car driver (b. 1919)
  • 1968 – Edwin Baker, Canadian co-founder of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) (b. 1893)
  • 1968 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (b. 1936)
  • 1972 – Joe Gallo, American gangster (b. 1929)
  • 1972 – Abeid Karume, Tanzanian politician, 1st President of Zanzibar (b. 1905)
  • 1981 – Kit Lambert, English record producer and manager (b. 1935)
  • 1981 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (b. 1899)
  • 1982 – Harald Ertl, Austrian race car driver and journalist (b. 1948)
  • 1984 – Frank Church, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1924)
  • 1985 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (b. 1888)
  • 1986 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist (b. 1912)
  • 1990 – Ronald Evans, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1933)
  • 1991 – Memduh Ünlütürk, Turkish general (b. 1913)
  • 1992 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1903)
  • 1992 – Antonis Tritsis, Greek high jumper and politician, 71st Mayor of Athens (b. 1937)
  • 1994 – Lee Brilleaux, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
  • 1994 – Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer, manager, and politician (b. 1923)
  • 1994 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (b. 1909)
  • 1994 – Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Rwandan chemist, academic, and politician, Prime Minister of Rwanda (b. 1953)
  • 1995 – Philip Jebb, English architect and politician (b. 1927)
  • 1997 – Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1923)
  • 1997 – Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1935)
  • 1998 – Alex Schomburg, Puerto Rican-American painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
  • 1999 – Heinz Lehmann, German-Canadian psychiatrist and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2001 – David Graf, American actor (b. 1950)
  • 2001 – Beatrice Straight, American actress (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – John Agar, American actor (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Cecile de Brunhoff, French pianist and author (b. 1903)
  • 2003 – David Greene, English-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2004 – Victor Argo, American actor (b. 1934)
  • 2004 – Konstantinos Kallias, Greek politician (b. 1901)
  • 2005 – Cliff Allison, English race car driver (b. 1932)
  • 2005 – Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – Bob Kennedy, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Melih Kibar, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1951)
  • 2007 – Johnny Hart, American author and illustrator (b. 1931)
  • 2007 – Barry Nelson, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2008 – Ludu Daw Amar, Burmese journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 2009 – Dave Arneson, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1947)
  • 2011 – Pierre Gauvreau, Canadian painter (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Steven Kanumba, Tanzanian actor and director (b. 1984)
  • 2012 – Satsue Mito, Japanese zoologist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2012 – Ignatius Moses I Daoud, Syrian cardinal (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – David E. Pergrin, American colonel and engineer (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Bashir Ahmed Qureshi, Pakistani politician (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Mike Wallace, American television news journalist (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Marty Blake, American businessman (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Les Blank, American director and producer (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Andy Johns, English-American record producer (b. 1950)
  • 2013 – Lilly Pulitzer, American fashion designer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Irma Ravinale, Italian composer and educator (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Mickey Rose, American screenwriter (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Carl Williams, American boxer (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – George Dureau, American painter and photographer (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – James Alexander Green, American-English mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – V. K. Murthy, Indian cinematographer (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Zeituni Onyango, Kenyan-American computer programmer (b. 1952)
  • 2014 – John Shirley-Quirk, English opera singer (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – George Shuffler, American guitarist (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Royce Waltman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Tim Babcock, American soldier and politician, 16th Governor of Montana (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – José Capellán, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1981)
  • 2015 – Stan Freberg, American puppeteer, voice actor, and singer (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Richard Henyekane, South African footballer (b. 1983)
  • 2015 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor (b. 1935)
  • 2016 – Blackjack Mulligan, American professional wrestler (b. 1942)
  • 2019 – Seymour Cassel, American actor (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances on April 7

  • Christian feast days:
    • Aibert of Crespin
    • Blessed Alexander Rawlins
    • Blessed Edward Oldcorne and Blessed Ralph Ashley
    • Blessed Notker the Stammerer
    • Brynach
    • Hegesippus
    • Henry Walpole
    • Hermann Joseph
    • Jean-Baptiste de La Salle
    • Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow (Eastern Orthodox Church, Episcopal Church (USA))
    • April 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Flag Day (Slovenia)
  • Genocide Memorial Day (Rwanda), and its related observance:
    • International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide (United Nations)
  • Motherhood and Beauty Day (Armenia)
  • National Beer Day (United States)
  • Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume Day (Tanzania)
  • Women’s Day (Mozambique)
  • World Health Day (International observance)

April 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
  • 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Didius Julianus.
  • 364 – Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor.
  • 1566 – The foundation stone of Valletta, Malta’s capital city, is laid by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
  • 1737 – The Marathas under Baji Rao I attack and defeat the Mughals in the Battle of Delhi.
  • 1776 – Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
  • 1794 – Allies under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeat French forces at Le Cateau.
  • 1795 – Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a northern fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of Imperial Russia.
  • 1801 – Treaty of Florence is signed, ending the war between the French Republic and the Kingdom of Naples.
  • 1802 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid ever to be discovered.
  • 1809 – Peninsular War: France defeats Spain in the Battle of Medellín.
  • 1814 – War of 1812: In the Battle of Valparaíso, two American naval vessels are captured by two Royal Navy vessels of equal strength.
  • 1842 – First concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Otto Nicolai.
  • 1854 – Crimean War: France and Britain declare war on Russia.
  • 1860 – First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka begins.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: In the Battle of Glorieta Pass, Union forces stop the Confederate invasion of the New Mexico Territory. The battle began on March 26.
  • 1871 – The Paris Commune is formally established in Paris.
  • 1883 – Tonkin Campaign: French victory in the Battle of Gia Cuc.
  • 1910 – Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion, after taking off from a water runway near Martigues, France.
  • 1920 – Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1920 affects the Great Lakes region and Deep South states.
  • 1933 – The Imperial Airways biplane City of Liverpool is believed to be the first airliner lost to sabotage when a passenger sets a fire on board.
  • 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid after a three-year siege.
  • 1941 – World War II: Britain’s Mediterranean Fleet sinks three heavy cruisers and two destroyers of Italy’s Regia Marina.
  • 1942 – World War II: A British combined force permanently disables the Louis Joubert Lock in Saint-Nazaire in order to keep the German battleship Tirpitz away from the mid-ocean convoy lanes.
  • 1946 – Cold War: The United States Department of State releases the Acheson–Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
  • 1951 – First Indochina War: In the Battle of Mạo Khê, French Union forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflict a defeat on Việt Minh forces commanded by General Võ Nguyên Giáp.
  • 1959 – The State Council of the People’s Republic of China dissolves the government of Tibet.
  • 1968 – Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de Lima Souto is killed by military police at a protest for cheaper meals at a restaurant for low-income students.
  • 1969 – Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.
  • 1970 – An earthquake strikes western Turkey at about 23:05 local time, killing 1,086 and injuring 1,260.
  • 1978 – The US Supreme Court hands down 5–3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
  • 1979 – A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania leads to the core overheating and a partial meltdown.
  • 1979 – The British House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence against James Callaghan’s government by 1 vote, precipitating a general election.
  • 1990 – United States President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
  • 1994 – In South Africa, African National Congress security guards kill dozens of Inkatha Freedom Party protesters.
  • 1999 – Kosovo War: Serb paramilitary and military forces kill 146 Kosovo Albanians in Izbica.
  • 2003 – In a friendly fire incident, two American A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft attack British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing one soldier.
  • 2005 – An earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), leaving 915–1,314 people dead and 340–1,146 injured.
  • 2006 – Massive protests are mounted against France’s First Employment Contract law, meant to reduce youth unemployment.

Births of March 28

  • 931 – Liu Chengyou, emperor of Later Han (d. 951)
  • 1097 – Atsiz, Abbasid caliph (d. 1156)
  • 1416 – Jodha of Mandore, Ruler of Marwar (d. 1489)
  • 1468 – Charles I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1490)
  • 1472 – Fra Bartolomeo, Italian painter (d. 1517)
  • 1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
  • 1515 – Teresa of Ávila, Spanish nun and saint (d. 1582)
  • 1522 – Albert the Warlike, German prince (d. 1557)
  • 1527 – Isabella Markham, English courtier (d. 1579)
  • 1591 – William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English earl (d. 1668)
  • 1592 – John Amos Comenius, Czech bishop and educator (d. 1670)
  • 1599 – Witte de With, Dutch captain (d. 1658)
  • 1613 – Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang of China (d. 1688)
  • 1621 – Heinrich Schwemmer, German composer and educator (d. 1696)
  • 1638 – Frederik Ruysch, Dutch botanist and anatomist (d. 1731)
  • 1652 – Samuel Sewall, English judge (d. 1730)
  • 1725 – Andrew Kippis, English minister and author (d. 1795)
  • 1727 – Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, (d. 1777)
  • 1743 – Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, Russian academic and politician (d. 1810)
  • 1750 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 1816)
  • 1760 – Thomas Clarkson, English activist (d. 1846)
  • 1773 – Henri Gatien Bertrand, French general (d. 1844)
  • 1793 – Henry Schoolcraft, American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist (d. 1864)
  • 1795 – Georg Heinrich Pertz, German historian and author (d. 1876)
  • 1806 – Thomas Hare, English lawyer and political scientist (d. 1891)
  • 1811 – John Neumann, Czech-American bishop and saint (d. 1860)
  • 1815 – Arsène Houssaye, French author and poet (d. 1896)
  • 1818 – Wade Hampton III, American general and politician, 77th Governor of South Carolina (d. 1902)
  • 1819 – Joseph Bazalgette, English architect and engineer, designed the Hammersmith Bridge and Battersea Bridge (d. 1891)
  • 1828 – Melchior Anderegg, Swiss mountain guide (d. 1914)
  • 1832 – Henry D. Washburn, American politician, general and explorer (d. 1871)
  • 1836 – Frederick Pabst, German-American brewer, founded the Pabst Brewing Company (d. 1904)
  • 1840 – Emin Pasha, German-Jewish Egyptian physician and politician (d. 1892)
  • 1847 – Gyula Farkas, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1930)
  • 1849 – James Darmesteter, French historian and author (d. 1894)
  • 1850 – Kyrle Bellew, English theatre actor (d. 1911)
  • 1851 – Bernardino Machado, Portuguese academic and politician, 3rd President of Portugal (d. 1944)
  • 1862 – Aristide Briand, French politician, Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
  • 1866 – Jimmy Ross, Scottish footballer (d. 1902)
  • 1868 – Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1936)
  • 1871 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch-Swiss conductor (d. 1951)
  • 1873 – John Geiger, American rower (d. 1956)
  • 1878 – Abraham Walkowitz, Russian-American painter (d. 1965)
  • 1879 – Terence MacSwiney, Irish republican politician and hunger striker; Lord Mayor of Cork (d. 1920)
  • 1881 – Martin Sheridan, Irish-American discus thrower and jumper (d. 1918)
  • 1884 – Angelos Sikelianos, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1951)
  • 1886 – Gustave Mesny, French general (d. 1945)
  • 1890 – Paul Whiteman, American violinist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1967)
  • 1892 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
  • 1892 – Tom Maguire, Irish general (d. 1993)
  • 1893 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-American businessman (d. 1971)
  • 1894 – Ernst Lindemann, German captain (d. 1941)
  • 1895 – Ángela Ruiz Robles, Spanish teacher, writer and inventor, pioneer of the electronic book (d. 1975)
  • 1895 – Christian Herter, American politician, 53rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1966)
  • 1895 – Donald Grey Barnhouse, American pastor and theologian (d. 1960)
  • 1895 – Spencer W. Kimball, American religious leader, 12th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1985)
  • 1897 – Sepp Herberger, German footballer and manager (d. 1977)
  • 1897 – Tillie Voss, American football player (d. 1975)
  • 1899 – Gussie Busch, American businessman (d. 1989)
  • 1899 – Harold B. Lee, American religious leader, 11th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1973)
  • 1899 – Buck Shaw, American football player and coach (d. 1977)
  • 1900 – Edward Wagenknecht, American critic and educator (d. 2004)
  • 1902 – Flora Robson, English actress (d. 1984)
  • 1902 – Jaromír Vejvoda, Czech fiddler and composer (d. 1988)
  • 1903 – Rudolf Serkin, Czech-American pianist and educator (d. 1991)
  • 1904 – Isabel Cuchí Coll, Puerto Rican author and journalist (d. 1993)
  • 1905 – Pandro S. Berman, American production manager and producer (d. 1996)
  • 1905 – Marlin Perkins, American zoologist and television host (d. 1986)
  • 1906 – Murray Adaskin, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2002)
  • 1906 – Robert Allen, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1906 – Dorothy Knowles, South African-English author, fencer and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1907 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun (d. 2005)
  • 1907 – Norrey Ford, English author (d. 1985)
  • 1907 – Irving Paul Lazar, American lawyer and talent agent (d. 1993)
  • 1909 – Nelson Algren, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1981)
  • 1910 – Frederick Baldwin Adams, Jr., American librarian and art collector (d. 2001)
  • 1910 – Jimmie Dodd, American actor and singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
  • 1910 – Ingrid of Sweden, (d. 2000)
  • 1911 – Consalvo Sanesi, Italian race car driver (d. 1998)
  • 1912 – A. Bertram Chandler, English-Australian author (d. 1984)
  • 1912 – Marina Raskova, Russian pilot and navigator (d. 1943)
  • 1913 – Kazuo Taoka, Japanese crime boss (d. 1981)
  • 1913 – Toko Shinoda, Japanese artist
  • 1914 – Edward Anhalt, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – Bohumil Hrabal, Czech author (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Kenneth Richard Norris, Australian entomologist and academic (d. 2003)
  • 1914 – Edmund Muskie, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 58th United States Secretary of State (d. 1996)
  • 1914 – Everett Ruess, American explorer, poet, and painter (d. 1934)
  • 1915 – Jay Livingston, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1917 – Claude Bertrand, Canadian neurosurgeon and scholar (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Edward Amy, Canadian soldier (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Jacob Avshalomov, American composer and conductor (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Tom Brooks, Australian cricket umpire (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Eileen Crofton, British physician and author (d. 2010)
  • 1919 – Vic Raschi, American baseball player and coach (d. 1988)
  • 1921 – Harold Agnew, American physicist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Dirk Bogarde, English actor and author (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Herschel Grynszpan, German assassin of Ernst vom Rath (d. 1960)
  • 1921 – Walter Neugebauer, Croatian-German author and illustrator (d. 1992)
  • 1922 – Neville Bonner, Australian politician (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Grace Hartigan, American painter and educator (d. 2008)
  • 1922 – Joey Maxim, American boxer and actor (d. 2001)
  • 1922 – B. Neminathan, Sri Lankan politician
  • 1923 – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Thad Jones, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1986)
  • 1924 – Freddie Bartholomew, American actor (d. 1992)
  • 1924 – Fred Flanagan, Australian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Russian actor (d. 1994)
  • 1925 – Dorothy DeBorba, American child actress (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Polly Umrigar, Indian cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1927 – Theo Colborn, American zoologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Marianne Fredriksson, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Vina Mazumdar, Indian academic and activist (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-American political activist and analyst; 10th United States National Security Advisor (d. 2017)
  • 1928 – Alexander Grothendieck, German-French mathematician and theorist (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Paul England, Australian race car driver and engineer (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Robert Ashley, American soldier and composer (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Jerome Isaac Friedman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1930 – Elizabeth Bainbridge, English soprano
  • 1933 – Tete Montoliu, Spanish pianist (d. 1997)
  • 1933 – Frank Murkowski, American soldier, banker, and politician, 8th Governor of Alaska
  • 1934 – Lester R. Brown, American environmentalist, founded the Earth Policy Institute and Worldwatch Institute
  • 1934 – Laurie Taitt, Guyanese-English hurdler (d. 2006)
  • 1935 – Frank Judd, Baron Judd, English politician, Secretary of State for International Development
  • 1935 – Michael Parkinson, English journalist and author
  • 1935 – Józef Szmidt, Polish triple jumper
  • 1936 – Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian novelist, playwright, and essayist Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1938 – Hans-Jürgen Bäsler, German footballer (d. 2002)
  • 1939 – Dov Frohman, Israeli electrical engineer and business executive
  • 1940 – Tony Barber, English-Australian television host
  • 1940 – Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Daniel Dennett, American philosopher and academic
  • 1942 – Kitanofuji Katsuaki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 52nd Yokozuna
  • 1942 – Neil Kinnock, Welsh politician, Vice-President of the European Commission
  • 1942 – Mike Newell, English director and producer
  • 1942 – Samuel Ramey, American opera singer
  • 1942 – Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (d. 1998)
  • 1942 – Jerry Sloan, American basketball player and coach
  • 1943 – Richard Eyre, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1943 – Conchata Ferrell, American actress
  • 1944 – Rick Barry, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1944 – Ken Howard, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1945 – Rodrigo Duterte, Filipino politician, 16th President of the Philippines
  • 1945 – Johnny Famechon, French-Australian boxer
  • 1945 – Björn Hamilton, Swedish engineer and politician
  • 1946 – Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (d. 2014)
  • 1946 – Henry Paulson, American banker and politician, 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury
  • 1946 – Alejandro Toledo, Peruvian economist and politician, 48th President of Peru
  • 1947 – Greg Thompson, Canadian educator and politician, 25th Minister of Veterans Affairs (d. 2019)
  • 1948 – John Evan, English keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1948 – Janice Lynde, American actress
  • 1948 – Dianne Wiest, American actress
  • 1948 – Milan Williams, American keyboard player (d. 2006)
  • 1949 – Ronnie Ray Smith, American sprinter (d. 2013)
  • 1952 – Keith Ashfield, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
  • 1952 – Tony Brise, English race car driver (d. 1975)
  • 1953 – Melchior Ndadaye, Burundian banker and politician, 4th President of Burundi (d. 1993)
  • 1953 – Rosemary Ashe, British actress and singer
  • 1954 – Donald Brown, American pianist and educator
  • 1955 – John Alderdice, Baron Alderdice, Northern Irish psychiatrist and politician, 1st Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
  • 1955 – Reba McEntire, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1956 – Susan Ershler, American mountaineer and author
  • 1957 – Harvey Glance, American sprinter and coach
  • 1958 – Edesio Alejandro, Cuban composer
  • 1958 – Elisabeth Andreassen, Swedish-Norwegian singer
  • 1958 – Bart Conner, American gymnast and sportscaster
  • 1958 – Curt Hennig, American wrestler, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2003)
  • 1959 – Laura Chinchilla, Costa Rican politician, President of Costa Rica
  • 1959 – Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1959 – Chris Myers, American journalist and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Chris Barrie, British actor and comedian
  • 1960 – José Maria Neves, Cape Verdeian politician, Prime Minister of Cape Verde
  • 1960 – Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, French-Belgian author and playwright
  • 1961 – Byron Scott, American basketball player and coach
  • 1962 – Jure Franko, Slovenian skier
  • 1962 – Simon Bazalgette, English businessman
  • 1963 – Jan Masiel, Polish politician
  • 1964 – Karen Lumley, English politician
  • 1966 – Cheryl James, American rapper and actress
  • 1967 – John Ziegler, German-American radio host and director
  • 1968 – Iris Chang, Chinese-American journalist and author (d. 2004)
  • 1968 – Nasser Hussain, Indian-English cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Colin Brazier, English journalist
  • 1969 – Rodney Atkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1969 – Brett Ratner, American director and producer
  • 1970 – Vince Vaughn, American actor
  • 1970 – Jennifer Weiner, American journalist and author
  • 1971 – Christianne Meneses Jacobs, Nicaraguan-American journalist and educator
  • 1971 – Orfeh, American singer, songwriter and actress
  • 1972 – Nick Frost, English actor and screenwriter
  • 1972 – Keith Tkachuk, American ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Björn Kuipers, Dutch footballer and referee
  • 1975 – Fabrizio Gollin, Italian race car driver
  • 1975 – Kate Gosselin, American television personality
  • 1975 – Iván Helguera, Spanish footballer
  • 1975 – Shanna Moakler, American model
  • 1976 – Dave Keuning, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Lauren Weisberger, American author
  • 1978 – Nathan Cayless, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1979 – Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi film actor, producer, singer and media personality
  • 1980 – Cho Seung-woo, South Korean actor
  • 1980 – David Lee, English footballer
  • 1980 – Rasmus Seebach, Danish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1980 – Luke Walton, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Lindsay Frimodt, American fashion model
  • 1981 – Edwar Ramírez, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Julia Stiles, American actress
  • 1983 – Ladji Doucouré, French sprinter and hurdler
  • 1984 – Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi actor
  • 1984 – Christopher Samba, Congolese footballer
  • 1984 – Nikki Sanderson, English actress
  • 1985 – Stefano Ferrario, Italian footballer
  • 1985 – Sauli Koskinen, Finnish TV host and entertainer
  • 1985 – Steve Mandanda, French footballer
  • 1985 – Stanislas Wawrinka, Swiss tennis player
  • 1986 – Bowe Bergdahl, American sergeant
  • 1986 – Lady Gaga, American singer-songwriter, dancer, producer, and actress
  • 1986 – J-Kwon, American rapper
  • 1986 – Amaia Salamanca, Spanish actress
  • 1986 – Barbora Strýcová, Czech tennis player
  • 1987 – Jean-Paul Adela, Seychellois footballer
  • 1987 – Yohan Benalouane, French-Tunisian footballer
  • 1987 – Simeon Jackson, Canadian soccer player
  • 1987 – Kagney Linn Karter, American pornographic actress
  • 1987 – Yotam Solomon, Israeli/American fashion designer
  • 1987 – Mary Kate Wiles, American actress
  • 1988 – Ryan Kalish, American baseball player
  • 1988 – Lacey Turner, English actress
  • 1989 – Afrikan Boy, English rapper
  • 1989 – David Goodwillie, Scottish footballer
  • 1989 – Lukas Jutkiewicz, English footballer
  • 1989 – Mira Leung, Canadian figure skater
  • 1989 – Marek Suchý, Czech footballer
  • 1990 – Zac Clarke, Australian footballer
  • 1990 – Zoella (Zoe Sugg), English Youtuber
  • 1991 – Amy Bruckner, American actress
  • 1991 – Lisa-Maria Moser, Austrian tennis player
  • 1991 – Marie-Philip Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1991 – Ondřej Palát, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Sergi Gómez, Spanish footballer
  • 1992 – Lucho Ayala, Filipino actor
  • 1994 – Jackson Wang, Hong Kong rapper
  • 1995 – Jonathan Drouin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1996 – Matt Renshaw, English-Australian cricketer
  • 2004 – Anna Shcherbakova, Russian figure skater (two-time Russian National Champion – ’19 & ’20)

Deaths of March 28

  • 193 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (b. 126)
  • 741 – Hatsusebe, Japanese princess
  • 965 – Arnulf I, count of Flanders
  • 966 – Flodoard, Frankish canon and chronicler
  • 1072 – Ordulf, Duke of Saxony (b. 1022)
  • 1134 – Saint Stephen Harding, founder of the Cistercian order
  • 1239 – Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (b. 1180)
  • 1241 – Valdemar II of Denmark (b. 1170)
  • 1254 – William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby (b. 1193)
  • 1285 – Pope Martin IV (b. 1220)
  • 1346 – Venturino of Bergamo, Dominican preacher (b. 1304)
  • 1461 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford (b. 1435)
  • 1563 – Heinrich Glarean, Swiss poet and theorist (b. 1488)
  • 1566 – Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian historian and diplomat (b. 1486)
  • 1583 – Magnus, Duke of Holstein (b. 1540)
  • 1584 – Ivan the Terrible, Russian king (b. 1530)
  • 1687 – Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (b. 1596)
  • 1794 – Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1743)
  • 1818 – Antonio Capuzzi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1755)
  • 1865 – Petrus Hofman Peerlkamp, Dutch scholar and critic (b. 1786)
  • 1866 – Solomon Foot, American lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
  • 1868 – James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1797)
  • 1870 – George Henry Thomas, American general (b. 1816)
  • 1874 – Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish-German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1795)
  • 1881 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1839)
  • 1893 – Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (b. 1824)
  • 1900 – Piet Joubert, South African soldier and politician (b. 1831 or 1834)
  • 1910 – Édouard Colonne, French violinist and conductor (b. 1838)
  • 1917 – Albert Pinkham Ryder, American painter (b. 1847)
  • 1923 – Charles Hubbard, American archer (b. 1849)
  • 1927 – Joseph-Médard Émard, Canadian archbishop (b. 1853)
  • 1929 – Katharine Lee Bates, American poet and songwriter (b. 1859)
  • 1929 – Lomer Gouin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 13th Premier of Quebec (b. 1861)
  • 1934 – Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor and educator (b. 1891)
  • 1941 – Marcus Hurley, American basketball player and cyclist (b. 1883)
  • 1941 – Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara, Indian police officer (b. 1877)
  • 1941 – Virginia Woolf, English novelist, essayist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1882)
  • 1942 – Miguel Hernández, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1910)
  • 1943 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1873)
  • 1944 – Stephen Leacock, English-Canadian political scientist and author (b. 1869)
  • 1947 – Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (b. 1897)
  • 1949 – Grigoraș Dinicu, Romanian violinist and composer (b. 1889)
  • 1953 – Jim Thorpe, American football player and coach (b. 1887)
  • 1958 – W. C. Handy, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1873)
  • 1962 – Hugo Wast, Argentinian author and screenwriter (b. 1883)
  • 1963 – Antonius Bouwens, Dutch target shooter (b. 1876)
  • 1965 – Clemence Dane, English author and playwright (b. 1888)
  • 1965 – Jack Hoxie, American actor (b. 1885)
  • 1969 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, American general and politician, 34th President of the United States (b. 1890)
  • 1971 – Robert Hunter, American golfer (b. 1886)
  • 1972 – Donie Bush, American baseball player, manager, and team owner (b. 1887)
  • 1974 – Arthur Crudup, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1905)
  • 1974 – Dorothy Fields, American songwriter (b. 1905)
  • 1974 – Françoise Rosay, French actress (b. 1891)
  • 1976 – Richard Arlen, American actor (b. 1898)
  • 1977 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1907)
  • 1980 – Dick Haymes, Argentinian-American actor and singer (b. 1918)
  • 1982 – William Giauque, Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
  • 1984 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor and composer (b. 1914)
  • 1985 – Marc Chagall, Russian-French painter and poet (b. 1887)
  • 1986 – Virginia Gilmore. American actress (b. 1919)
  • 1987 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1905)
  • 1992 – Nikolaos Platon, Greek archaeologist and academic (b. 1909)
  • 1993 – Scott Cunningham, American author (b. 1956)
  • 1994 – Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-French playwright and critic (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Shin Kanemaru, Japanese politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1914)
  • 1999 – Franco Gasparri, Italian actor (b. 1948)
  • 2000 – Anthony Powell, English soldier and author (b. 1905)
  • 2001 – Moe Koffman, Canadian flute player, saxophonist, and composer (b. 1928)
  • 2004 – Peter Ustinov, English-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2005 – Moura Lympany, English-Monacan pianist (b. 1916)
  • 2005 – Robin Spry, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
  • 2006 – Pro Hart, Australian painter (b. 1928)
  • 2006 – Vethathiri Maharishi, Indian philosopher and author (b. 1911)
  • 2006 – Charles Schepens, Belgian-American ophthalmologist and author (b. 1912)
  • 2006 – Caspar Weinberger, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1917)
  • 2009 – Maurice Jarre, French-American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
  • 2010 – June Havoc, American actress, dancer, and director (b. 1912)
  • 2011 – Wenche Foss, Norwegian actress (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – John Arden, English author and playwright (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Alexander Arutiunian, Armenian pianist and composer (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Harry Crews, American novelist, playwright, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Addie L. Wyatt, African American labor leader (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – George E. P. Box, English-American statistician and educator (b. 1919)
  • 2013 – Manuel García Ferré, Spanish-Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Richard Griffiths, English actor (b. 1947)
  • 2013 – Art Malone, American race car driver (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Hugh McCracken, American guitarist, harmonica player, and producer (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Heinz Patzig, German footballer and manager (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Bob Teague, American college football star and television news-reporter (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Gus Triandos, American baseball player and scout (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Robert Zildjian, American businessman, founded Sabian (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Jeremiah Denton, American admiral and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Lorenzo Semple, Jr., American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Avraham Yaski, Israeli architect and academic (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Chuck Brayton, American baseball player and coach (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Joseph Cassidy, Canadian-English priest and academic (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – Miroslav Ondříček, Czech cinematographer (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Gene Saks, American actor and director (b. 1921)
  • 2016 – James Noble, American actor (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances on March 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Stephen Harding
    • Guntram
    • Priscus
    • Pope Sixtus III
    • Tuotilo
    • March 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Commemoration of Sen no Rikyū (Schools of Japanese tea ceremony)
  • Serfs Emancipation Day (Tibet)
  • Teachers’ Day (Czech Republic and Slovakia)

March 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea.
  • 238 – Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperors.
  • 871 – Æthelred of Wessex is defeated by a Danish invasion army at the Battle of Marton.
  • 1508 – Ferdinand II of Aragon commissions Amerigo Vespucci chief navigator of the Spanish Empire.
  • 1621 – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.
  • 1622 – Jamestown massacre: Algonquians kill 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia, a third of the colony’s population, during the Second Anglo-Powhatan War.
  • 1630 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables.
  • 1638 – Anne Hutchinson is expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious dissent.
  • 1713 – The Tuscarora War comes to an end with the fall of Fort Neoheroka, effectively opening up the interior of North Carolina to European colonization.
  • 1739 – Nader Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne.
  • 1765 – The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act that introduces a tax to be levied directly on its American colonies.
  • 1784 – The Emerald Buddha is moved with great ceremony to its current location in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.
  • 1829 – In the London Protocol, the three protecting powers (United Kingdom, France and Russia) establish the borders of Greece.
  • 1849 – The Austrians defeat the Piedmontese at the Battle of Novara.
  • 1871 – In North Carolina, William Woods Holden becomes the first governor of a U.S. state to be removed from office by impeachment.
  • 1872 – Illinois becomes the first state to require gender equality in employment.
  • 1873 – The Spanish National Assembly abolishes slavery in Puerto Rico.
  • 1894 – The first playoff game for the Stanley Cup starts.
  • 1906 – The first England vs France rugby union match is played at Parc des Princes in Paris
  • 1920 – Azeri and Turkish army soldiers with participation of Kurdish gangs attacked the Armenian inhabitants of Shushi (Nagorno Karabakh).
  • 1933 – Cullen–Harrison Act: President Franklin Roosevelt signs an amendment to the Volstead Act, legalizing the manufacture and sale of “3.2 beer” (3.2% alcohol by weight, approximately 4% alcohol by volume) and light wines.
  • 1939 – Germany takes Memel from Lithuania.
  • 1942 – World War II: In the Mediterranean Sea, the Royal Navy confronts Italy’s Regia Marina in the Second Battle of Sirte.
  • 1943 – World War II: The entire village of Khatyn (in what is the present-day Republic of Belarus) is burnt alive by Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118.
  • 1945 – World War II: The city of Hildesheim, Germany heavily damaged in a British air raid, though it had little military significance and Germany was on the verge of final defeat.
  • 1945 – The Arab League is founded when a charter is adopted in Cairo, Egypt.
  • 1960 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes receive the first patent for a laser.
  • 1972 – The United States Congress sends the Equal Rights Amendment to the states for ratification.
  • 1972 – In Eisenstadt v. Baird, the United States Supreme Court decides that unmarried persons have the right to possess contraceptives.
  • 1975 – A fire at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in Decatur, Alabama causes a dangerous reduction in cooling water levels.
  • 1978 – Karl Wallenda of The Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope suspended between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  • 1982 – NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia is launched from the Kennedy Space Center on its third mission, STS-3.
  • 1992 – USAir Flight 405 crashes shortly after takeoff from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, leading to a number of studies into the effect that ice has on aircraft.
  • 1992 – Fall of communism in Albania: The Democratic Party of Albania wins a decisive majority in the parliamentary election.
  • 1993 – The Intel Corporation ships the first Pentium chips (80586), featuring a 60 MHz clock speed, 100+ MIPS, and a 64 bit data path.
  • 1995 – Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returns to earth after setting a record of 438 days in space.
  • 1997 – Tara Lipinski, aged 14 years and nine months, becomes the youngest women’s World Figure Skating Champion.
  • 2004 – Ahmed Yassin, co-founder and leader of the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas, two bodyguards, and nine civilian bystanders are killed in the Gaza Strip when hit by Israeli Air Force Hellfire missiles.
  • 2006 – Three Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) hostages are freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days of captivity and the murder of their colleague from the U.S., Tom Fox.
  • 2013 – At least 37 people are killed and 200 are injured after a fire destroys a camp containing Burmese refugees near Ban Mae, Thailand.
  • 2016 – Three suicide bombers kill 32 people and injure 316 in the 2016 Brussels bombings at the airport and at the Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station.
  • 2017 – A terrorist attack in London near the Houses of Parliament leaves four people dead and at least 20 injured.
  • 2019 – Robert S. Mueller III delivers his report on the Russian government’s influence on the election of Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election.
  • 2019 – Two buses crashes in Kitampo, a town north of Ghana’s capital Accra, killing at least 50 people.
  • 2020 – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces the country’s largest ever self-imposed curfew, in an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Births on March 22

  • 841 – Bernard Plantapilosa, Frankish son of Bernard of Septimania (d. 885)
  • 875 – William I, Duke of Aquitaine (d. 918)
  • 1212 – Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (d. 1235)
  • 1367 – Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (probable; d. 1399)
  • 1394 – Ulugh Beg, Persian astronomer and mathematician (d. 1449)
  • 1459 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1519)
  • 1499 – Johann Carion, German astrologer and chronicler (d. 1537)
  • 1503 – Antonio Francesco Grazzini, Italian author and educator (d. 1583)
  • 1517 – Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian composer (d. 1590)
  • 1519 – Catherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, English noblewoman (d. 1580)
  • 1582 – John Williams, Archbishop of York (d. 1650)
  • 1599 – Anthony van Dyck, Flemish-English painter and etcher (d. 1641)
  • 1609 – John II Casimir Vasa, Polish king (d. 1672)
  • 1615 – Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh, British scientist (d. 1691)
  • 1663 – August Hermann Francke, German clergyman, philanthropist, and scholar (d. 1727)
  • 1684 – William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, English politician, Secretary at War (d. 1764)
  • 1712 – Edward Moore, English poet and playwright (d. 1757)
  • 1720 – Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect, designed the Yellow Palace and Bernstorff Palace (d. 1799)
  • 1723 – Charles Carroll, American lawyer and politician (d. 1783)
  • 1728 – Anton Raphael Mengs, German painter and theorist (d. 1779)
  • 1785 – Adam Sedgwick, English scientist (d. 1873)
  • 1797 – William I, German Emperor (d. 1888)
  • 1808 – Caroline Norton, English feminist, social reformer, and author (d. 1877)
  • 1808 – David Swinson Maynard, American physician and lawyer (d. 1873)
  • 1812 – Stephen Pearl Andrews, American author and activist (d. 1886)
  • 1814 – Thomas Crawford, American sculptor, designed the Statue of Freedom (d. 1857)
  • 1817 – Braxton Bragg, American general (d. 1876)
  • 1818 – John Ainsworth Horrocks, English-Australian explorer, founded Penwortham (d. 1846)
  • 1822 – Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, Ottoman sociologist, historian, scholar, statesman and jurist (d. 1895)
  • 1842 – Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1912)
  • 1846 – Randolph Caldecott, English illustrator and painter (d. 1886)
  • 1846 – James Timberlake, American lieutenant, police officer, and farmer (d. 1891)
  • 1852 – Otakar Ševčík, Czech violinist and educator (d. 1934)
  • 1852 – Hector Sévin, French cardinal (d. 1916)
  • 1855 – Dorothy Tennant, British painter (d. 1926)
  • 1857 – Paul Doumer, French mathematician, journalist, and politician, 14th President of France (d. 1932)
  • 1866 – Jack Boyle, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1913)
  • 1868 – Robert Andrews Millikan, American colonel and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1953)
  • 1869 – Tom McInnes, Scottish-English footballer (d. 1939)
  • 1873 – Ernest Lawson, Canadian-American painter (d. 1939)
  • 1880 – Ernest C. Quigley, Canadian-American football player and coach (d. 1960)
  • 1884 – Arthur H. Vandenberg, American journalist and politician (d. 1951)
  • 1884 – Lyda Borelli, Italian actress (d. 1959)
  • 1885 – Aryeh Levin, Polish-Lithuanian rabbi and educator (d. 1969)
  • 1886 – August Rei, Estonian lawyer and politician, Head of State of Estonia (d. 1963)
  • 1887 – Chico Marx, American actor (d. 1961)
  • 1890 – George Clark, American race car driver (d. 1978)
  • 1892 – Charlie Poole, American country banjo player (d. 1931)
  • 1892 – Johannes Semper, Estonian poet and scholar (d. 1970)
  • 1896 – He Long, Chinese general and politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1969)
  • 1896 – Joseph Schildkraut, Austrian-American actor (d. 1964)
  • 1899 – Ruth Page, American ballerina and choreographer (d. 1991)
  • 1901 – Greta Kempton, Austrian-American painter (d. 1991)
  • 1902 – Johannes Brinkman, Dutch architect, designed the Van Nelle Factory (d. 1949)
  • 1902 – Madeleine Milhaud, French actress and composer (d. 2008)
  • 1903 – Bill Holman, American cartoonist (d. 1987)
  • 1907 – James M. Gavin, American general and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (d. 1990)
  • 1908 – Jack Crawford, Australian tennis player (d. 1991)
  • 1908 – Louis L’Amour, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1988)
  • 1909 – Gabrielle Roy, Canadian author and educator (d. 1983)
  • 1910 – Nicholas Monsarrat, English sailor and author (d. 1979)
  • 1912 – Wilfrid Brambell, Irish actor and performer (d. 1985)
  • 1912 – Karl Malden, American actor (d. 2009)
  • 1912 – Agnes Martin, Canadian-American painter and educator (d. 2004)
  • 1912 – Leslie Johnson, English race car driver (d. 1959)
  • 1913 – Tom McCall, American journalist and politician, 30th Governor of Oregon (d. 1983)
  • 1913 – Lew Wasserman, American businessman and talent agent (d. 2002)
  • 1913 – James Westerfield, American actor (d. 1971)
  • 1914 – John Stanley, American author and illustrator (d. 1993)
  • 1914 – Donald Stokes, Baron Stokes, English businessman (d. 2008)
  • 1917 – Virginia Grey, American actress (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Irving Kaplansky, Canadian-American mathematician and academic (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Paul Rogers, English actor (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Cheddi Jagan, Guyanese politician, 4th President of Guyana (d. 1997)
  • 1919 – Bernard Krigstein, American illustrator (d. 1990)
  • 1920 – James Brown, American actor and singer (d. 1992)
  • 1920 – Werner Klemperer, German-American actor (d. 2000)
  • 1920 – Lloyd MacPhail, Canadian businessman and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (d. 1995)
  • 1920 – Fanny Waterman, English pianist and educator, founded the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition
  • 1920 – Katsuko Saruhashi, Japanese geochemist (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Ross Martin, American actor (d. 1981)
  • 1921 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1922 – John J. Gilligan, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd Governor of Ohio (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Stewart Stern, American screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Marcel Marceau, French mime and actor (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Al Neuharth, American journalist and author, founded USA Today (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Yevgeny Ostashev, Russian test pilot, participant in the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite (d. 1960)
  • 1924 – Osman F. Seden, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1924 – Bill Wendell, American television announcer (d. 1999)
  • 1927 – Marty Blake, American basketball player and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Nicolas Tikhomiroff, Russian photographer (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Carrie Donovan, American journalist (d. 2001)
  • 1928 – E. D. Hirsch, American author, critic, and academic
  • 1928 – Ed Macauley, American basketball player, coach, and priest (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Yayoi Kusama, Japanese artist
  • 1929 – P. Ramlee, Malaysian actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer, and producer. (d. 1973)
  • 1930 – Derek Bok, American lawyer and academic
  • 1930 – Pat Robertson, American minister and broadcaster, founded the Christian Broadcasting Network
  • 1930 – Stephen Sondheim, American composer and songwriter
  • 1931 – Burton Richter, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – William Shatner, Canadian actor
  • 1931 – Leslie Thomas, Welsh journalist and author (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Els Borst, Dutch physician and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Larry Evans, American chess player and journalist (d. 2010)
  • 1933 – Abolhassan Banisadr, Iranian economist and politician, 1st President of Iran
  • 1934 – May Britt, Swedish actress
  • 1934 – Sheila Cameron, English lawyer and judge
  • 1934 – Orrin Hatch, American lawyer and politician
  • 1935 – Lea Pericoli, Italian tennis player and journalist
  • 1935 – Frank Pulli, American baseball player and umpire (d. 2013)
  • 1935 – M. Emmet Walsh, American actor
  • 1936 – Ron Carey, American trade union leader (d. 2008)
  • 1936 – Roger Whittaker, Kenyan-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1936 – Erol Büyükburç, Turkish singer-songwriter, pop music composer, and actor (d. 2015)
  • 1937 – Angelo Badalamenti, American pianist and composer
  • 1937 – Armin Hary, German sprinter
  • 1937 – Jon Hassell, American trumpet player and composer
  • 1938 – Rein Etruk, Estonian chess player (d. 2012)
  • 1940 – Dave Keon, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1940 – Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-American physician and author (d. 1996)
  • 1940 – George Edward Alcorn, Jr. American physicist and inventor
  • 1941 – Billy Collins, American poet
  • 1941 – Jeremy Clyde, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1941 – Bruno Ganz, Swiss actor (d. 2019)
  • 1941 – Cassam Uteem, Mauritian politician, 2nd President of Mauritius
  • 1942 – Jorge Ben Jor, Brazilian singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – Dick Pound, Canadian lawyer and academic
  • 1943 – George Benson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Nazem Ganjapour, Iranian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1943 – Keith Relf, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1976)
  • 1945 – Eric Roth, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1946 – Don Chaney, American basketball player and coach
  • 1946 – Rivka Golani, Israeli viola player and composer
  • 1946 – Rudy Rucker, American mathematician, computer scientist, and author
  • 1946 – Harry Vanda, Dutch-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1947 – George Ferguson, English architect and politician, 1st Mayor of Bristol
  • 1947 – James Patterson, American author and producer
  • 1947 – Maarten van Gent, Dutch basketball player and coach
  • 1948 – Andrew Lloyd Webber, English composer and director
  • 1949 – Fanny Ardant, French actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1949 – Brian Hanrahan, English journalist (d. 2010)
  • 1952 – Des Browne, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
  • 1953 – Kenneth Rogoff, American economist and chess grandmaster
  • 1955 – Lena Olin, Swedish actress
  • 1955 – Pete Sessions, American politician
  • 1955 – Valdis Zatlers, Latvian physician and politician, 7th President of Latvia
  • 1956 – Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (born María Teresa Mestre y Batista)
  • 1957 – Jürgen Bucher, German footballer
  • 1957 – Stephanie Mills, American actress and singer
  • 1959 – Matthew Modine, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Tarmo Laht, Estonian architect
  • 1960 – Lauri Vahtre, Estonian historian and politician
  • 1961 – Simon Furman, British comic book writer
  • 1963 – Deborah Bull, English ballerina
  • 1963 – Susan Ann Sulley, English pop singer (The Human League)
  • 1963 – Martin Vizcarra, Peruvian engineer and politician, 67th President of Peru
  • 1964 – David Gillespie, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Pia Cayetano, Filipino lawyer and politician
  • 1966 – Todd Ewen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1966 – Artis Pabriks, Latvian academic and politician, 11th Minister for Defence of Latvia
  • 1966 – António Pinto, Portuguese runner
  • 1966 – Brian Shaw, American basketball player and coach
  • 1967 – Mario Cipollini, Italian cyclist
  • 1967 – Bernie Gallacher, Scottish-English footballer (d. 2011)
  • 1970 – Andreas Johnson, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1970 – Leontien van Moorsel, Dutch cyclist
  • 1970 – Hwang Young-cho, South Korean runner
  • 1971 – Keegan-Michael Key, American actor, comedian, and writer
  • 1972 – Shawn Bradley, German-American basketball player, coach, and actor
  • 1972 – Cory Lidle, American baseball player (d. 2006)
  • 1972 – Elvis Stojko, Canadian figure skater and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Beverley Knight, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Marcus Camby, American basketball player
  • 1974 – Philippe Clement, Belgian footballer
  • 1974 – Geo Meneses, Mexican producer and singer
  • 1975 – Cole Hauser, American actor and producer
  • 1975 – Jiří Novák, Czech-Monegasque tennis player
  • 1976 – Teun de Nooijer, Dutch field hockey player
  • 1976 – Kathryn Jean Lopez, American journalist
  • 1976 – Asako Toki, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1976 – Kellie Shanygne Williams, American actress
  • 1976 – Reese Witherspoon, American actress and producer
  • 1977 – Joey Porter, American football player and coach
  • 1977 – Tom Poti, American ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Aaron North, American guitarist
  • 1979 – Juan Uribe, Dominican baseball player
  • 1981 – Arne Gabius, German runner
  • 1982 – Piá, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Enrico Gasparotto, Italian cyclist
  • 1982 – Michael Janyk, Canadian skier
  • 1984 – Piotr Trochowski, German footballer
  • 1985 – Mayola Biboko, Belgian footballer
  • 1985 – Jakob Fuglsang, Danish cyclist
  • 1985 – Mike Jenkins, American football player
  • 1985 – Justin Masterson, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Kelli Waite, Australian swimmer
  • 1986 – David Choi, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1986 – Dexter Fowler, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Ike Davis, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Jairo Mora Sandoval, Costa Rican environmentalist (d. 2013)
  • 1987 – Liam Doran, British rally cross driver
  • 1989 – Ruben Popa, Romanian footballer
  • 1989 – J. J. Watt, American football player
  • 1989 – Tyler Oakley, American internet celebrity

Deaths on March 22

  • 880 – Carloman of Bavaria, Frankish king
  • 1144 – William of Norwich, child murder victim
  • 1322 – Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, English politician, Lord High Steward of England (b. 1278)
  • 1418 – Dietrich of Nieheim, German bishop and historian (b. 1345)
  • 1421 – Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, English soldier and politician, Lord High Steward of England (b. 1388)
  • 1454 – John Kemp, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1471 – George of Poděbrady (b. 1420)
  • 1544 – Johannes Magnus, Swedish archbishop and theologian (b. 1488)
  • 1602 – Agostino Carracci, Italian painter and educator (b. 1557)
  • 1685 – Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (b. 1638)
  • 1687 – Jean-Baptiste Lully, Italian-French composer and conductor (b. 1632)
  • 1758 – Jonathan Edwards, English minister, theologian, and philosopher (b. 1703)
  • 1772 – John Canton, English physicist and academic (b. 1718)
  • 1820 – Stephen Decatur, American commander (b. 1779)
  • 1832 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German novelist, poet, playwright, and diplomat (b. 1749)
  • 1840 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician and academic (b. 1798)
  • 1864 – Konstanty Kalinowski, writer, journalist, lawyer and revolutionary (b. 1838)
  • 1881 – Samuel Courtauld, English businessman (b. 1793)
  • 1896 – Thomas Hughes, English lawyer and politician (b. 1822)
  • 1913 – Song Jiaoren, Chinese educator and politician (b. 1882)
  • 1913 – Ruggero Oddi, Italian physiologist and anatomist (b.1864)
  • 1924 – William Macewen, Scottish surgeon and neuroscientist (b. 1848)
  • 1931 – James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, Irish lawyer and politician (b. 1851)
  • 1942 – Frederick Cuming, English cricketer (b. 1875)
  • 1942 – William Donne, English captain and cricketer (b. 1875)
  • 1945 – John Hessin Clarke, American lawyer and judge (b. 1857)
  • 1952 – D. S. Senanayake, 1st Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (b. 1883)
  • 1955 – Ivan Šubašić, Croatian lawyer and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
  • 1958 – Mike Todd, American film producer (b. 1909)
  • 1960 – José Antonio Aguirre, Spanish lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Basque Country (b. 1904)
  • 1966 – John Harlin, American mountaineer and pilot (b. 1935)
  • 1971 – Johannes Villemson, Estonian-American runner (b. 1893)
  • 1971 – Nella Walker, American actress and vaudevillian (b. 1886)
  • 1974 – Peter Revson, American race car driver (b. 1939)
  • 1974 – Orazio Satta Puliga, Italian automobile designer (b. 1910)
  • 1976 – John Dwyer McLaughlin, American painter (b. 1898)
  • 1977 – A. K. Gopalan, Indian educator and politician (b. 1904)
  • 1978 – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (b. 1905)
  • 1979 – Ben Lyon, American actor and studio executive (b. 1901)
  • 1981 – James Elliott, American runner and coach (b. 1915)
  • 1981 – Gil Puyat, Filipino businessman and politician, 13th President of the Senate of the Philippines (b. 1907)
  • 1986 – Olive Deering, American actress (b. 1918)
  • 1986 – Mark Dinning, American singer (b. 1933)
  • 1987 – Odysseas Angelis, Greek general and politician (b. 1912)
  • 1989 – Peta Taylor, English cricketer (b. 1912)
  • 1990 – Gerald Bull, Canadian engineer and academic (b. 1928)
  • 1991 – Léon Balcer, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Solicitor General of Canada (b. 1917)
  • 1991 – Paul Engle, American novelist, poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1908)
  • 1991 – Dave Guard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
  • 1991 – Gloria Holden, English-American actress (b. 1908)
  • 1993 – Steve Olin, American baseball player (b. 1965)
  • 1994 – Dan Hartman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (b. 1950)
  • 1994 – Walter Lantz, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1899)
  • 1996 – Don Murray, American drummer (b. 1945)
  • 1996 – Robert F. Overmyer, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1936)
  • 1996 – Billy Williamson, American guitarist (b. 1925)
  • 1999 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, English historian and academic (b. 1913)
  • 1999 – David Strickland, American actor (b. 1969)
  • 2000 – Carlo Parola, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2001 – Stepas Butautas, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – Sabiha Gökçen, Turkish soldier and pilot (b. 1913)
  • 2001 – William Hanna, American animator, director, producer, and voice actor, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (b. 1910)
  • 2001 – Robert Fletcher Shaw, Canadian businessman, academic, and civil servant (b. 1910)
  • 2002 – Rudolf Baumgartner, Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1917)
  • 2003 – Terry Lloyd, English journalist (b. 1952)
  • 2004 – Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer and academic (b. 1943)
  • 2004 – Ahmed Yassin, Co-founded Hamas (b. 1937)
  • 2004 – V. M. Tarkunde, Indian lawyer and civil rights activist (b. 1909)
  • 2005 – Rod Price, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1947)
  • 2005 – Gemini Ganesan, Indian film actor (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Kenzō Tange, Japanese architect, designed the Yoyogi National Gymnasium and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (b. 1913)
  • 2006 – Pierre Clostermann, French soldier, pilot, and politician (b. 1921)
  • 2006 – Pío Leyva, Cuban singer and author (b. 1917)
  • 2006 – Kurt von Trojan, Austrian-Australian journalist and author (b. 1937)
  • 2007 – U. G. Krishnamurti, Indian-Italian philosopher and educator (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – Cachao López, Cuban-American bassist and composer (b. 1918)
  • 2010 – James Black, Scottish biologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
  • 2010 – Özhan Canaydın, Turkish basketball player and businessman (b. 1943)
  • 2011 – Artur Agostinho, Portuguese journalist (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Victor Bouchard, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Joe Blanchard, American football player and wrestler (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – John Payton, American lawyer and activist (b. 1946)
  • 2012 – Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley, English academic and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Mickey Sullivan, American baseball player and coach (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – David Waltz, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Neil L. Whitehead, English anthropologist and author (b. 1956)
  • 2013 – Vladimír Čech, Czech actor and politician (b. 1951)
  • 2013 – James Nabrit, American lawyer and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Bebo Valdés, Cuban-Swedish pianist and composer (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Derek Watkins, English trumpet player and composer (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Ray Williams, American basketball player and coach (b. 1954)
  • 2014 – Yashwant Vithoba Chittal, Indian author (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Mickey Duff, Polish-English boxer and manager (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Thor Listau, Norwegian soldier and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Tasos Mitsopoulos, Cypriot politician, Cypriot Minister of Defence (b. 1965)
  • 2015 – Arkady Arkanov, Ukrainian-Russian actor and playwright (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Horst Buhtz, German footballer and manager (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – George Neel, Jr., American businessman (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Norman Scribner, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1936)
  • 2016 – Phife Dawg, American rapper (b. 1970)
  • 2016 – Rob Ford, Canadian businessman and politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto (b. 1969)
  • 2016 – Rita Gam, American actress (b. 1927)
  • 2018 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician, academic and author, Yad Vashem recipient (b. 1911)

Holidays and observances on March 22

  • Bihar Day (Bihar, India)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Basil of Ancyra
    • Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen
    • Darerca of Ireland
    • Epaphroditus
    • Jonathan Edwards (Lutheranism)
    • Lea of Rome
    • Nicholas Owen
    • Paul of Narbonne
    • March 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Easter Sunday can fall (last in 1818, will not happen again until 2285), while April 25 is the latest. (Christianity)
  • Emancipation Day or Día de la Abolición de la Esclavitud (Puerto Rico)
  • World Water Day (International)

March 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 16- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

March 16 in History

  • 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang.
  • 1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford’s Tower, York.
  • 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse to recant are burned to death after the Fall of Montségur.
  • 1322 – The Battle of Boroughbridge takes place in the Despenser Wars.
  • 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan reaches the island of Homonhon in the Philippines.
  • 1621 – Samoset, a Mohegan, visited the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, “Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset.”
  • 1660 – The Long Parliament of England is dissolved so as to prepare for the new Convention Parliament.
  • 1689 – The 23rd Regiment of Foot, or Royal Welch Fusiliers, is founded.
  • 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Spanish troops capture the British-held island of Roatán.
  • 1782 – Anglo-Spanish War (1779): Action of 16 March 1782.
  • 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden is shot; he dies on March 29.
  • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: An Austrian column is defeated by the French in the Battle of Valvasone.
  • 1802 – The Army Corps of Engineers is established to found and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point.
  • 1812 – The Siege of Badajoz begins: British and Portuguese forces besiege and defeat the French garrison during the Peninsular War.
  • 1815 – Prince Willem proclaims himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in the Netherlands.
  • 1818 – In the Second Battle of Cancha Rayada, Spanish forces defeated Chileans under José de San Martín.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: During the Red River Campaign, Union troops reach Alexandria, Louisiana.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Averasborough began as Confederate forces suffer irreplaceable casualties in the final months of the war.
  • 1870 – The first version of the overture fantasy Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky receives its première performance.
  • 1872 – The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1–0 at The Oval in Kennington, London.
  • 1894 – Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs is first performed.
  • 1898 – In Melbourne the representatives of five colonies adopted a constitution, which would become the basis of the Commonwealth of Australia.
  • 1900 – Sir Arthur Evans purchased the land around the ruins of Knossos, the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete.
  • 1916 – The 7th and 10th US cavalry regiments under John J. Pershing cross the US–Mexico border to join the hunt for Pancho Villa.
  • 1917 – World War I: A German auxiliary cruiser is sunk in the Action of 16 March 1917.
  • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Battle of Länkipohja is infamous for its bloody aftermath as the Whites executed 70–100 capitulated Reds.
  • 1924 – In accordance with the Treaty of Rome, Fiume becomes annexed as part of Italy.
  • 1925 – An earthquake occurs in Yunnan, China.
  • 1926 – History of Rocketry: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.
  • 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Conscription is reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht.
  • 1936 – Warmer-than-normal temperatures rapidly melt snow and ice on the upper Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, leading to a major flood in Pittsburgh.
  • 1939 – From Prague Castle, Hitler proclaims Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate.
  • 1940 – First person killed (James Isbister) in a German bombing raid on the UK in World War II during a raid on Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ended, but small pockets of Japanese resistance persisted.
  • 1945 – Ninety percent of Würzburg, Germany is destroyed in only 20 minutes by British bombers, resulting in around 5,000 deaths.
  • 1958 – The Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird, averaging almost a million cars a year since the company’s founding.
  • 1962 – A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with all 107 aboard missing and presumed dead.
  • 1966 – Launch of Gemini 8, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with an Agena Target Vehicle.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre occurs; between 347 and 500 Vietnamese villagers (men, women, and children) are killed by American troops.
  • 1968 – General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado.
  • 1969 – A Viasa McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashes in Maracaibo, Venezuela, killing 155.
  • 1976 – British Prime Minister Harold Wilson resigns, citing personal reasons.
  • 1977 – Assassination of Kamal Jumblatt, the main leader of the anti-government forces in the Lebanese Civil War.
  • 1978 – Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is kidnapped. (He is later murdered by his captors.)
  • 1978 – A Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 crashes near Gabare, Bulgaria, killing 73.
  • 1978 – Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two after running aground on the Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the largest oil spill in history at that time.
  • 1979 – Sino-Vietnamese War: The People’s Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ends the war.
  • 1983 – Demolition of the Ismaning radio transmitter, the last wooden radio tower in Germany.
  • 1984 – William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Lebanon, is kidnapped by Hezbollah. (He later dies in captivity.)
  • 1985 – Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He is released on December 4, 1991.
  • 1988 – Iran–Contra affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
  • 1988 – Halabja chemical attack: The Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraq is attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5,000 people and injuring about 10,000 people.
  • 1988 – The Troubles: Ulster loyalist militant Michael Stone attacks a Provisional IRA funeral in Belfast with pistols and grenades. Three persons, one of them a member of PIRA are killed, and more than 60 others are wounded.
  • 1991 – The airplane carrying eight members of Reba McEntire’s touring band crashed on the side of Otay Mountain.
  • 1995 – Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.
  • 2001 – A series of bomb blasts that took place in the city of Shijiazhuang, China killed 108 people and injured 38 others, was the biggest mass murder in China in decades.
  • 2003 – American activist Rachel Corrie is killed in Rafah trying to obstruct the demolition of a home by being run over by a bulldozer.
  • 2005 – Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control.
  • 2014 – Crimea votes in a controversial referendum to secede from Ukraine to join Russia.
  • 2016 – A bomb detonates in a bus carrying government employees in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 15 and injuring at least 54.
  • 2016 – Two suicide bombers detonate their explosives at a mosque during morning prayer on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Nigeria, killing 22 and injuring 18.

Births on March 16

  • 1399 – The Xuande Emperor, ruler of Ming China (d. 1435)
  • 1445 – Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss priest and theologian (d. 1510)
  • 1465 – Kunigunde of Austria, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1520)
  • 1473 – Henry IV, Duke of Saxony (d. 1541)
  • 1559 – Amar Singh I, successor of Maharana Pratap of Mewar (d. 1620)
  • 1581 – Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch historian and poet (d. 1647)
  • 1585 – Gerbrand Bredero, Dutch poet and playwright (d. 1618)
  • 1590 – Ii Naotaka, Japanese daimyō (d. 1659)
  • 1596 – Ebba Brahe, Swedish countess (d. 1674)
  • 1609 – Michael Franck, German baker, teacher, poet, and composer (d. 1667)
  • 1609 – Agostino Mitelli, Italian painter (d. 1660)
  • 1621 – Georg Neumark, German poet and composer (d. 1681)
  • 1631 – René Le Bossu, French critic (d. 1680)
  • 1638 – François Crépieul, Jesuit missionary (d. 1702)
  • 1654 – Andreas Acoluthus, German scholar (d. 1704)
  • 1670 – François de Franquetot de Coigny, French general (d. 1759)
  • 1673 – Jean Bouhier, French jurist and scholar (d. 1746)
  • 1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Frederick William I (d. 1757)
  • 1693 – Malhar Rao Holkar, Indian nobleman (d. 1766)
  • 1701 – Daniel Lorenz Salthenius, Swedish theologian (d. 1750)
  • 1729 – Maria Louise Albertine (d. 1818)
  • 1741 – Carlo Amoretti, Italian scientist (d. 1816)
  • 1744 – Nicolas-Germain Léonard, French poet and novelist (d. 1793)
  • 1750 – Caroline Herschel, German-English astronomer (d. 1848)
  • 1751 – James Madison, American academic and politician, 4th President of the United States (d. 1836)
  • 1753 – François Amédée Doppet, French general (d. 1799)
  • 1760 – Johann Heinrich Meyer, Swiss painter and writer (d. 1832)
  • 1766 – Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, French antiquarian, cartographer, artist and explorer (d. 1875)
  • 1771 – Antoine-Jean Gros, French painter (d. 1835)
  • 1773 – Juan Ramón Balcarce, Argentinian general and politician, 6th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 1836)
  • 1774 – Matthew Flinders, English navigator and cartographer (d. 1814)
  • 1789 – Francis Rawdon Chesney, English general and explorer (d. 1872)
  • 1789 – Georg Ohm, German physicist and mathematician (d. 1854)
  • 1794 – Ami Boué, Austrian geologist and ethnographer (d. 1881)
  • 1797 – Alaric Alexander Watts, English poet and journalist (d. 1864)
  • 1799 – Anna Atkins, English botanist and photographer (d. 1871)
  • 1800 – Emperor Ninkō of Japan (d. 1846)
  • 1805 – Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philologist and politician (d. 1861)
  • 1806 – Félix De Vigne, Belgian painter (d. 1862)
  • 1808 – Hannah T. King, British-born American writer and pioneer (d. 1886)
  • 1813 – Gaëtan de Rochebouët, French prime minister (d. 1899)
  • 1819 – José Paranhos, Brazilian politician (d. 1880)
  • 1820 – Enrico Tamberlik, Italian tenor (d. 1889)
  • 1821 – Eduard Heine, German mathematician and academic (d. 1881)
  • 1822 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (d. 1899)
  • 1822 – John Pope, American general (d. 1892)
  • 1823 – William Henry Monk, English organist and composer (d. 1889)
  • 1825 – Camilo Castelo Branco, Portuguese writer (d. 1890)
  • 1828 – Émile Deshayes de Marcère, French politician (d. 1918)
  • 1834 – James Hector, Scottish geologist and surgeon (d. 1907)
  • 1836 – Andrew Smith Hallidie, English-American engineer and businessman (d. 1900)
  • 1839 – Sully Prudhomme, French poet and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
  • 1839 – John Butler Yeats, Irish painter (d. 1922)
  • 1840 – Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese businessman (d. 1931)
  • 1840 – Georg von der Gabelentz, German linguist and sinologist (d. 1893)
  • 1845 – Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (d. 1928)
  • 1846 – Gösta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician and academic (d. 1927)
  • 1846 – Rebecca Cole, American physician and social reformer (d. 1922)
  • 1846 – Jurgis Bielinis, Lithuanian book smuggler (d. 1918)
  • 1848 – Axel Heiberg, Norwegian financier and diplomat (d. 1932)
  • 1851 – Otto Bardenhewer, German patrologist (d. 1935)
  • 1851 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (d. 1931)
  • 1856 – Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (d. 1879)
  • 1857 – Charles Harding Firth, English historian and academic (d. 1936)
  • 1859 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1906)
  • 1865 – Patsy Donovan, Irish-American baseball player and manager (d. 1953)
  • 1869 – Willy Burmester, German violinist (d. 1933)
  • 1871 – Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (d. 1951)
  • 1871 – Frantz Reichel, French rugby player and hurdler (d. 1932)
  • 1874 – Frédéric François-Marsal, French prime minister (d. 1958)
  • 1877 – Léo-Ernest Ouimet, Canadian director and producer (d. 1972)
  • 1878 – Clemens August Graf von Galen, German cardinal (d. 1946)
  • 1878 – Paul Jouve, French painter (d. 1973)
  • 1881 – Fannie Charles Dillon, American composer (d. 1947)
  • 1882 – James Lightbody, American runner (d. 1953)
  • 1883 – Ethel Anderson, Australian poet, author, and painter (d. 1958)
  • 1884 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist and author (d. 1960)
  • 1885 – Giacomo Benvenuti, Italian composer and musicologist (d. 1943)
  • 1885 – Sydney Chaplin, English actor (d. 1965)
  • 1886 – Herbert Lindström, Swedish tug of war player (d. 1951)
  • 1887 – Emilio Lunghi, Italian runner (d. 1925)
  • 1887 – S. Stillman Berry, American marine zoologist (1984)
  • 1889 – Reggie Walker, South African athlete (d. 1951)
  • 1892 – César Vallejo, Peruvian poet, playwright, and journalist (d. 1938)
  • 1895 – Ernest Labrousse, French historian (d. 1988)
  • 1897 – Antonio Donghi, Italian painter (d. 1963)
  • 1897 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (d. 1970)
  • 1900 – Cyril Hume, American novelist (d. 1966)
  • 1900 – Mencha Karnicheva, Macedonian revolutionary and assassin (d. 1964)
  • 1901 – Alexis Chantraine, Belgian footballer (d. 1987)
  • 1903 – Mike Mansfield, American politician and diplomat, 22nd United States Ambassador to Japan (d. 2001)
  • 1906 – Francisco Ayala, Spanish sociologist, author, and translator (d. 2009)
  • 1906 – Maurice Turnbull, Welsh-English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1944)
  • 1906 – Henny Youngman, English-American violinist and comedian (d. 1998)
  • 1908 – René Daumal, French author and poet (d. 1944)
  • 1908 – Ernest Rogez, French water polo player (d. 1986)
  • 1908 – Robert Rossen, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1966)
  • 1910 – Aladár Gerevich, Hungarian fencer (d. 1991)
  • 1910 – Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian-English cricketer and politician, 8th Nawab of Pataudi (d. 1952)
  • 1911 – Pierre Harmel, Belgian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2009)
  • 1911 – Josef Mengele, German physician and captain (d. 1979)
  • 1911 – Philip Pavia, American painter and sculptor (d.2005)
  • 1912 – Pat Nixon, First Lady of the United States (d. 1993)
  • 1913 – Rémy Raffalli, French soldier (d. 1952)
  • 1915 – Kunihiko Kodaira, Japanese mathematician and academic (d. 1997)
  • 1916 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (d. 2004)
  • 1916 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese engineer and businessman (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – Louis C. Wyman, American lawyer and politician (d. 2002)
  • 1917 – Laure Pillay, Mauritian lawyer and jurist (d. 2017)
  • 1917 – Mehrdad Pahlbod, Iranian politician (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – Aldo van Eyck, Dutch architect (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Frederick Reines, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
  • 1920 – John Addison, English-American soldier and composer (d. 1998)
  • 1920 – Sid Fleischman, American author and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1920 – Traudl Junge, German secretary (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – Leo McKern, Australian-English actor (d. 2002)
  • 1922 – Harding Lemay, American screenwriter and playwright (d. 2018)
  • 1923 – Heinz Wallberg, German conductor (d. 2004)
  • 1925 – Cornell Borchers, Lithuanian-German actress and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Mary Hinkson, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Ervin Kassai, Hungarian basketball player and referee (d. 2012)
  • 1925 – Luis E. Miramontes, Mexican chemist and engineer (d. 2004)
  • 1926 – Charles Goodell, American lawyer and politician (d. 1987)
  • 1926 – Jerry Lewis, American actor and comedian (d. 2017)
  • 1927 – Vladimir Komarov, Russian pilot, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
  • 1927 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American sociologist and politician, 12th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – Olga San Juan, American actress and dancer (d. 2009)
  • 1928 – Wakanohana Kanji I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 45th Yokozuna (d. 2010)
  • 1928 – Christa Ludwig, German soprano and actress
  • 1929 – Betty Johnson, American singer
  • 1929 – Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Nadja Tiller, Austrian actress
  • 1930 – Tommy Flanagan, American pianist and composer (d. 2001)
  • 1930 – Minoru Miki, Japanese composer (d. 2011)
  • 1931 – Augusto Boal, Brazilian theatre director, writer and politician (d. 2009)
  • 1931 – Alan Heyman, American-South Korean musicologist and composer (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Anthony Kenny, English philosopher and academic
  • 1931 – John Munro, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2003)
  • 1932 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
  • 1932 – Walter Cunningham, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1932 – Kurt Diemberger, Austrian mountaineer and author
  • 1932 – Herbert Marx, Canadian politician (d. 2020)
  • 1933 – Keith Critchlow, English architect and academic, co-founded Temenos Academy
  • 1933 – Sanford I. Weill, American banker, financier, and philanthropist
  • 1934 – Jean Cournoyer, Canadian politician
  • 1934 – Ray Hnatyshyn, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Governor General of Canada (d. 2002)
  • 1934 – Roger Norrington, English violinist and conductor
  • 1935 – Teresa Berganza, Spanish soprano and actress
  • 1935 – Pepe Cáceres, Colombian bullfighter (d. 1987)
  • 1936 – Raymond Vahan Damadian, Armenian-American inventor, invented the MRI
  • 1936 – Fred Neil, American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
  • 1937 – David Frith, English historian, journalist, and author
  • 1937 – Attilio Nicora, Italian cardinal (d. 2017)
  • 1937 – Amos Tversky, Israeli-American psychologist and academic (d. 1996)
  • 1938 – Carlos Bilardo, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1939 – Yvon Côté, Canadian teacher
  • 1940 – Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1940 – Vagif Mustafazadeh, Azerbaijani pianist and composer (d. 1979)
  • 1940 – Jan Pronk, Dutch academic and politician, Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment
  • 1940 – Keith Rowe, English guitarist
  • 1941 – Robert Guéï, Ivorian soldier and politician, 3rd President of Côte d’Ivoire (d. 2002)
  • 1941 – Chuck Woolery, American game show host and television personality
  • 1942 – Roger Crozier, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)
  • 1942 – Gijs van Lennep, Dutch race car driver
  • 1942 – Jean-Pierre Schosteck, French politician
  • 1942 – James Soong, Chinese-Taiwanese politician, Governor of Taiwan Province
  • 1942 – Jerry Jeff Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Ursula Goodenough, American biologist, zoologist, and author
  • 1943 – Hans Heyer, German racing driver
  • 1943 – Álvaro de Soto, Peruvian diplomat
  • 1944 – Andrew S. Tanenbaum, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1946 – Sigmund Groven, Norwegian harmonica player and composer
  • 1946 – Mary Kaldor, English economist and academic
  • 1946 – J. Z. Knight, American New Age teacher and author
  • 1946 – Guesch Patti, French singer
  • 1948 – Michael Owen Bruce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1948 – Richard Desjardins, Canadian singer-songwriter and director
  • 1948 – Catherine Quéré, French politician
  • 1949 – Erik Estrada, American actor
  • 1949 – Victor Garber, Canadian actor and singer
  • 1949 – Elliott Murphy, American-French singer-songwriter and journalist
  • 1950 – Peter Forster, English bishop
  • 1950 – Kate Nelligan, Canadian actress
  • 1950 – Edhem Šljivo, Bosnian footballer
  • 1951 – Ray Benson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1951 – Abdelmajid Bourebbou, Algerian footballer
  • 1951 – Oddvar Brå, Norwegian skier
  • 1951 – Joe DeLamielleure, American football player
  • 1951 – Alexandre Gonzalez, French long-distance runner
  • 1953 – Claus Peter Flor, German conductor
  • 1953 – Isabelle Huppert, French actress
  • 1953 – Rainer Knaak, German chess player
  • 1953 – Richard Stallman, American computer scientist and programmer
  • 1954 – David Heath, English politician
  • 1954 – Jimmy Nail, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1954 – Tim O’Brien, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1954 – Dav Whatmore, Sri Lankan-Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1954 – Nancy Wilson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
  • 1955 – Svetlana Alexeeva, Russian ice dancer and coach
  • 1955 – Rimantas Astrauskas, Lithuanian physicist
  • 1955 – Bruno Barreto, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Linda Lepomme, Belgian actress and singer
  • 1955 – Bob Ley, American sports anchor and reporter
  • 1955 – Andy Scott, Canadian politician (d. 2013)
  • 1955 – Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer
  • 1956 – Ozzie Newsome, American football player and manager
  • 1956 – Clifton Powell, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1956 – Yoriko Shono, Japanese writer
  • 1956 – Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Swiss lawyer and politician
  • 1958 – Phillip Wilcher, Australian pianist and composer
  • 1958 – Kate Worley, American author (d. 2004)
  • 1958 – Jorge Ramos, Mexican-American journalist and author
  • 1959 – Michael J. Bloomfield, American astronaut
  • 1959 – Sebastian Currier, American composer and educator
  • 1959 – Greg Dyer, Australian cricketer
  • 1959 – Flavor Flav, American rapper and actor
  • 1959 – Charles Hudson, American baseball player
  • 1959 – Steve Marker, American musician
  • 1959 – Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian economist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Norway, 13th Secretary General of NATO
  • 1960 – John Hemming, English businessman and politician
  • 1960 – Duane Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1960 – Jenny Eclair, English comedian, actress and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Brett Kenny, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1961 – Todd McFarlane, Canadian author, illustrator, and businessman, founded McFarlane Toys
  • 1962 – Franck Fréon, French race car driver
  • 1962 – Liliane Gaschet, French athlete
  • 1963 – Jerome Flynn, English actor and singer
  • 1963 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor and singer (d. 2002)
  • 1964 – Patty Griffin, American singer-songwriter
  • 1964 – Jaclyn Jose, Filipino actress
  • 1964 – Pascal Richard, Swiss racing cyclist
  • 1964 – Gore Verbinski, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Steve Armstrong, American wrestler
  • 1965 – Cindy Brown, American basketball player
  • 1965 – Mark Carney, Canadian-English economist and banker
  • 1965 – Cristiana Reali, Italian-Brazilian actress
  • 1966 – Chrissy Redden, Canadian cross-country cyclist
  • 1967 – Tracy Bonham, American singer and violinist
  • 1967 – John Darnielle, American musician and novelist
  • 1967 – Lauren Graham, American actress and producer
  • 1967 – Ronnie McCoury, American bluegrass mandolin player, singer and songwriter
  • 1967 – Heidi Zurbriggen, Swiss alpine skier
  • 1968 – Trevor Wilson, American basketball player and police officer
  • 1969 – Judah Friedlander, American comedian and actor
  • 1969 – Ottis Gibson, Barbadian cricketer and coach
  • 1969 – Alina Ivanova, Russian athlete
  • 1969 – Evangelos Koronios, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1970 – Joakim Berg, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1971 – Franck Comba, French rugby player
  • 1971 – Alan Tudyk, American actor
  • 1972 – Ismaïl Sghyr, French-Moroccan long-distance runner
  • 1973 – Andrey Mizurov, Kazakhstani road bicycle racer
  • 1973 – Vonda Ward, American boxer
  • 1974 – Georgios Anatolakis, Greek footballer and politician
  • 1974 – Anne Charrier, French actress
  • 1974 – Heath Streak, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1975 – Luciano Castro, Argentine actor
  • 1975 – Sienna Guillory, English model and actress
  • 1975 – Lionel Torres, French archer
  • 1976 – Blu Cantrell, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1976 – Leila Lejeune, French handballer
  • 1976 – Susanne Ljungskog, Swedish cyclist
  • 1976 – Abraham Núñez, Dominican baseball player
  • 1976 – Zhu Chen, Qatari chess Grandmaster
  • 1977 – Mónica Cruz, Spanish actress and dancer
  • 1977 – Thomas Rupprath, German swimmer
  • 1978 – Brooke Burns, American fashion model and actress
  • 1978 – Annett Renneberg, German actress and singer
  • 1979 – Christina Liebherr, Swiss equestrian
  • 1979 – Rashad Moore, American football player
  • 1979 – Sébastien Ostertag, French handball player
  • 1979 – Leena Peisa, Finnish keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1979 – Andrei Stepanov, Estonian footballer
  • 1980 – Todd Heap, American football player
  • 1980 – Felipe Reyes, Spanish basketball player
  • 1981 – Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer
  • 1981 – Curtis Granderson, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Julien Mazet, French road bicycle racer
  • 1981 – Fabiana Murer, Brazilian pole vaulter
  • 1982 – Miguel Comminges, Guadeloupean footballer
  • 1982 – Riley Cote, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1982 – Tommy Hansen, Czech actor
  • 1982 – Jesús Del Nero, Spanish road bicycle racer
  • 1982 – Brian Wilson, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Stephen Drew, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Brandon League, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Nicolas Rousseau, French road bicycle racer
  • 1983 – Tramon Williams, American football player
  • 1984 – Levi Brown, American football player
  • 1984 – Aisling Bea, Irish comedienne and actress
  • 1984 – Sharon Cherop, Kenyan long-distance runner
  • 1984 – Michael Ennis, Australian rugby player
  • 1984 – Hosea Gear, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1984 – Brandon Prust, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Teddy Atine-Venel, French athlete
  • 1985 – Eddy Lover, Panamanian singer-songwriter
  • 1985 – Aleksei Sokirskiy, Russian hammer thrower
  • 1986 – Alexandra Daddario, American actress
  • 1986 – Toney Douglas, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Kenny Dykstra, American wrestler
  • 1986 – T. J. Jordan, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Boaz Solossa, Indonesian footballer
  • 1986 – Daisuke Takahashi, Japanese figure skater
  • 1987 – Fabien Lemoine, French football player
  • 1988 – Jessica Gregg, Canadian speed skater
  • 1988 – Patrick Herrmann, German footballer
  • 1989 – Blake Griffin, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Jung So-min, South Korean actress
  • 1989 – Magalie Pottier, French racing cyclist
  • 1989 – Theo Walcott, English footballer
  • 1990 – Andre Young, American basketball player
  • 1991 – Reggie Bullock, American basketball player
  • 1991 – Wolfgang Van Halen, American bassist
  • 1993 – George Ford, English rugby union player
  • 1993 – Marine Lorphelin, Miss France
  • 1994 – Joel Embiid, Cameroonian basketball player
  • 1995 – Inga Janulevičiūtė, Lithuanian figure skater
  • 1997 – Florian Neuhaus, German football player

Deaths on March 16

  • AD 37 – Tiberius, Roman emperor (b. 42 BC)
  • 455 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (assassinated; b. 419)
  • 455 – Heraclius, Roman courtier (primicerius sacri cubiculi )
  • 842 – Xiao Mian, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
  • 933 – Takin al-Khazari, Egyptian commander and politician, Abbasid Governor of Egypt
  • 943 – Pi Guangye, Chinese official and chancellor (b. 877)
  • 1021 – Heribert of Cologne, German archbishop and saint (b. 970)
  • 1072 – Adalbert of Hamburg, German archbishop (b. 1000)
  • 1181 – Henry I, Count of Champagne
  • 1185 – Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (b. 1161)
  • 1279 – Jeanne of Dammartin, Queen consort of Castile and León (b. 1216)
  • 1322 – Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, English general and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1276)
  • 1405 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (b. 1350)
  • 1410 – John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, French-English admiral and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1373)
  • 1457 – Ladislaus Hunyadi, Hungarian politician (b. 1433)
  • 1485 – Anne Neville, queen of Richard III of England (b. 1456)
  • 1559 – Anthony St. Leger, English-Irish politician Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1496)
  • 1649 – Jean de Brébeuf, French-Canadian missionary and saint (b. 1593)
  • 1679 – John Leverett, English general and politician, 19th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1616)
  • 1721 – James Craggs the Elder, English politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (b. 1657)
  • 1736 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1710)
  • 1737 – Benjamin Wadsworth, American minister and academic (b. 1670)
  • 1738 – George Bähr, German architect, designed the Dresden Frauenkirche (b. 1666)
  • 1747 – Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (b. 1690)
  • 1838 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American captain and mathematician (b. 1773)
  • 1841 – Félix Savart, French physicist and psychologist (d. 1791)
  • 1868 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (b. 1814)
  • 1884 – Art Croft, American baseball player (b. 1855)
  • 1888 – Hippolyte Carnot, French politician (b. 1801)
  • 1892 – Samuel F. Miller, American lawyer and politician (b. 1827)
  • 1898 – Aubrey Beardsley, English author and illustrator (b. 1872)
  • 1899 – Joseph Medill, American journalist and politician, 26th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1823)
  • 1903 – Roy Bean, American lawyer and judge (b. 1825)
  • 1907 – John O’Leary, Irish politician (b. 1830)
  • 1912 – Max Burckhard, Austrian theater director (b. 1854)
  • 1914 – Gaston Calmette, French journalist (b. 1858)
  • 1914 – Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss lawyer and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
  • 1914 – John Murray, Scottish oceanographer, biologist, and limnologist (b. 1841)
  • 1925 – August von Wassermann, German bacteriologist and hygienist (b. 1866)
  • 1930 – Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1870)
  • 1935 – John James Rickard Macleod, Scottish physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
  • 1935 – Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian-Danish chess player (b. 1886)
  • 1936 – Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (b. 1864)
  • 1937 – Alexander von Staël-Holstein, Estonian orientalist and sinologist (b. 1877)
  • 1940 – Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
  • 1945 – Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (b. 1874)
  • 1955 – Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1914)
  • 1957 – Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (b. 1876)
  • 1958 – Leon Cadore, American baseball player (b. 1891)
  • 1961 – Chen Geng, Chinese general and politician (b. 1903)
  • 1961 – Václav Talich, Czech violinist and conductor (b. 1883)
  • 1963 – Laura Adams Armer, American author and photographer (b. 1874)
  • 1965 – Alice Herz, German activist (b. 1882)
  • 1967 – Thomas MacGreevy, Irish poet (b. 1893)
  • 1968 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-American pianist and composer (b. 1895)
  • 1968 – Gunnar Ekelöf, Swedish poet and translator (b. 1907)
  • 1970 – Tammi Terrell, American singer (b. 1945)
  • 1971 – Bebe Daniels, American actress (b. 1901)
  • 1971 – Thomas E. Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of New York (b. 1902)
  • 1972 – Pie Traynor, American baseball player (b. 1898)
  • 1975 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
  • 1977 – Kamal Jumblatt, Lebanese lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
  • 1979 – Jean Monnet, French economist and politician (b. 1888)
  • 1980 – Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-American painter (b. 1898)
  • 1983 – Arthur Godfrey, American actor and television host (b. 1903)
  • 1983 – Fred Rose, Polish-Canadian politician (b. 1907)
  • 1985 – Roger Sessions, American composer, critic, and educator (b. 1896)
  • 1985 – Eddie Shore, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1902)
  • 1988 – Jigger Statz, American baseball player (b.1897)
  • 1988 – Mickey Thompson, American race car driver (b. 1928)
  • 1990 – Ernst Bacon, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1898)
  • 1991 – Chris Austin, American country singer (b .1964)
  • 1991 – Jean Bellette, Australian artist (b. 1908)
  • 1992 – Yves Rocard, French physicist and engineer (b. 1903)
  • 1994 – Eric Show, American baseball player (b. 1956)
  • 1998 – Derek Barton, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 1998 – Esther Bubley, American photographer (b. 1921)
  • 1999 – Gratien Gélinas, Canadian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1909)
  • 2000 – Thomas Ferebee, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
  • 2000 – Pavel Prudnikau, Belarusian poet and author (b. 1911)
  • 2000 – Michael Starr, Canadian judge and politician, 16th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1910)
  • 2000 – Carlos Velázquez, Puerto Rican pitcher (b. 1948)
  • 2001 – Bob Wollek, French race car driver (b. 1943)
  • 2003 – Rachel Corrie, American activist (b. 1979)
  • 2003 – Ronald Ferguson, English captain, polo player, and manager (b. 1931)
  • 2004 – Vilém Tauský, Czech conductor and composer (b. 1910)
  • 2005 – Todd Bell, American football player (b. 1958)
  • 2005 – Ralph Erskine, English architect, designed The London Ark (b. 1914)
  • 2005 – Dick Radatz, American baseball player (b. 1937)
  • 2007 – Manjural Islam Rana, Bangladeshi cricketer (b. 1984)
  • 2008 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer and soldier (b. 1912)
  • 2008 – Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (b. 1942)
  • 2010 – Ksenija Pajčin, Serbian singer, dancer and model (b. 1977)
  • 2011 – Richard Wirthlin, American religious leader (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Donald E. Hillman, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Takaaki Yoshimoto, Japanese poet, philosopher, and critic (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Jamal Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi physicist and cosmologist (b. 1939)
  • 2013 – José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz, Argentinian economist and politician, Minister of Economy of Argentina (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Yadier Pedroso, Cuban pitcher (b. 1986)
  • 2013 – Ruchoma Shain, American-born teacher and author (b. 1914)
  • 2013 – Marina Solodkin, Russian-Israeli academic and politician (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Frank Thornton, English actor (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Gary Bettenhausen, American race car driver (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Donald Crothers, American chemist and academic (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Yulisa Pat Amadu Maddy, Sierra Leonean author, poet, and playwright (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Steve Moore, English author and illustrator (b. 1949)
  • 2014 – Alexander Pochinok, Russian economist and politician (b. 1958)
  • 2015 – Jack Haley, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1964)
  • 2015 – Don Robertson, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian-American mathematician and poet (b. 1924)
  • 2016 – Frank Sinatra Jr., American singer and actor (b. 1944)
  • 2017 – Lewis Rowland, American neurologist (b. 1925)
  • 2018 – Louise Slaughter, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (b. 1929)
  • 2019 – Dick Dale, American surf-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances on March 16

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abbán
    • Finian Lobhar (Finian the Leper)
    • Heribert of Cologne
    • Hilarius of Aquileia
    • Julian of Antioch
    • March 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of the Book Smugglers (Lithuania)
  • Remembrance day of the Latvian legionnaires (Latvia)
  • Saint Urho’s Day (Finnish Americans and Finnish Canadians)
  • Austin 3:16 Day (Not official, but leisure day)

March 16- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 15- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

In the Roman calendar, March 15 was known as the Ides of March.

March 15 in History

  • 474 BC – Roman consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso celebrates an ovation for concluding the war against Veii and securing a forty years’ truce.
  • 44 BC – Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger and his fellow conspirators, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and several other Roman senators, march to the Capitol following the assassination of Julius Caesar, but there is no response to their appeals to the population, who have left the streets in fear. Caesar’s body remains in its place
  • 351 – Constantius II elevates his cousin Gallus to Caesar, and puts him in charge of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.
  • 493 – Odoacer, the first barbarian King of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, is slain by Theoderic the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, while the two kings were feasting together.
  • 856 – Michael III, emperor of the Byzantine Empire, overthrows the regency of his mother, empress Theodora (wife of Theophilos) with support of the Byzantine nobility.
  • 933 – After a ten-year truce, German King Henry the Fowler defeats a Hungarian army at the Battle of Riade near the Unstrut river.
  • 1147 – Conquest of Santarém: The forces of Afonso I of Portugal capture Santarém.
  • 1311 – Battle of Halmyros: The Catalan Company defeats Walter V, Count of Brienne to take control of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state in Greece.
  • 1493 – Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first trip to the Americas.
  • 1564 – Mughal Emperor Akbar abolishes “jizya” (per capita tax).
  • 1672 – Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence.
  • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Guilford Court House: Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat a mixed American force numbering 4,400 in a Pyrrhic victory.
  • 1783 – In an emotional speech in Newburgh, New York, George Washington asks his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. The plea is successful and the threatened coup d’état never takes place.
  • 1819 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel is adjudged the winner of the Grand Prix of the Académie des Sciences for his “Memoir on the Diffraction of Light”, which verifies the Fresnel integrals, accounts for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishes Newton’s initial objection to the wave theory of light.
  • 1820 – Maine becomes the 23rd U.S. state.
  • 1827 – University of Toronto is founded.
  • 1848 – A revolution breaks out in Hungary. The Habsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: The Red River Campaign: U.S. Navy fleet arrives at Alexandria, Louisiana.
  • 1874 – France and Vietnam sign the Second Treaty of Saigon, further recognizing the full sovereignty of France over Cochinchina.
  • 1875 – Archbishop of New York John McCloskey is named the first cardinal in the United States.
  • 1877 – First ever official cricket test match is played: Australia vs England at the MCG Stadium, in Melbourne, Australia.
  • 1878 – Restoration of the Scottish Catholic hierarchy, broken off back in 1603.
  • 1888 – Start of the Anglo-Tibetan War of 1888.
  • 1895 – Heian Shrine is founded.
  • 1906 – Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated.
  • 1916 – United States President Woodrow Wilson sends 4,800 United States troops over the U.S.–Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa.
  • 1917 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne ending the 304-year Romanov dynasty.
  • 1921 – Talaat Pasha, former Grand Vizir of the Ottoman Empire and chief architect of the Armenian Genocide is assassinated in Berlin by a 23-year-old Armenian, Soghomon Tehlirian.
  • 1922 – After Egypt gains nominal independence from the United Kingdom, Fuad I becomes King of Egypt.
  • 1926 – The dictator Theodoros Pangalos is elected President of Greece without opposition.
  • 1927 – The first Women’s Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place on The Isis in Oxford.
  • 1931 – SS Viking explodes off Newfoundland, killing 27 of the 147 onboard.
  • 1933 – Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss keeps members of the National Council from convening, starting the Austrofascist dictatorship.
  • 1939 – Germany occupies Czechoslovakia.
  • 1939 – Carpatho-Ukraine declares itself an independent republic, but is annexed by Hungary the next day.
  • 1941 – Philippine Airlines, the flag carrier of the Philippines takes its first flight between Manila (from Nielson Field) to Baguio City with a Beechcraft Model 18 making the airline the first and oldest commercial airline in Asia operating under its original name.
  • 1943 – World War II: Third Battle of Kharkov: The Germans retake the city of Kharkov from the Soviet armies in bitter street fighting.
  • 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces begin an offensive to push Germans from Upper Silesia.
  • 1951 – the Iranian oil industry is nationalized.
  • 1952 – In Cilaos, Réunion, 1870 mm (73 inches) of rain falls in a 24-hour period, setting a new world record (March 15 through March 16).
  • 1961 – At the 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ Conference, South Africa announces that it will withdraw from the Commonwealth when the South African Constitution of 1961 comes into effect.
  • 1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to the Selma crisis, tells U.S. Congress “We shall overcome” while advocating the Voting Rights Act.
  • 1978 – Somalia and Ethiopia signed a truce to end the Ethio-Somali War.
  • 1986 – Collapse of Hotel New World: Thirty-three people die when the Hotel New World in Singapore collapses.
  • 1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first President of the Soviet Union.
  • 1991 – Cold War: The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany comes into effect, granting full sovereignty to the Federal Republic of Germany.
  • 2008 – Stockpiles of obsolete ammunition explode at an ex-military ammunition depot in the village of Gërdec, Albania, killing 26 people.
  • 2011 – Beginning of the Syrian Civil War.
  • 2019 – Fifty-one people are killed in the Christchurch mosque shootings.
  • 2019 – Beginning of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
  • 2019 – Approximately 1.4 million young people in 123 countries go on strike to protest climate change.

Births on March 15

  • 270 – Saint Nicholas, Greek bishop and saint (d. 343)
  • 1097 – Fujiwara no Tadamichi, Japanese noble (d. 1164)
  • 1275 – Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant (d. 1333)
  • 1407 – Jacob, Margrave of Baden-Baden (d. 1453)
  • 1444 – Francesco Gonzaga, Catholic cardinal (d. 1483)
  • 1493 – Anne de Montmorency, French captain and diplomat (d. 1567)
  • 1513 – Hedwig Jagiellon, Electress of Brandenburg (d. 1573)
  • 1516 – Alqas Mirza, Safavid prince (d. 1550)
  • 1582 – Daniel Featley, English theologian and controversialist (d. 1645)
  • 1584 – Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (d. 1663)
  • 1591 – Alexandre de Rhodes, French missionary and lexicographer (d. 1660)
  • 1611 – Jan Fyt, Flemish painter (d. 1661)
  • 1638 – Shunzhi Emperor of China (d. 1661)
  • 1666 – George Bähr, German architect, designed the Dresden Frauenkirche (d. 1738)
  • 1754 – Archibald Menzies, Scottish surgeon and botanist (d. 1842)
  • 1767 – Andrew Jackson, American general, judge, and politician, 7th President of the United States (d. 1845)
  • 1779 – William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1848)
  • 1790 – Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, German mathematician and academic (d. 1861)
  • 1791 – Charles Knight, English author and publisher (d. 1873)
  • 1809 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts, American-Liberian historian and politician, 1st President of Liberia (d. 1876)
  • 1809 – Karl Josef von Hefele, German bishop and theologian (d. 1893)
  • 1813 – John Snow, English physician and epidemiologist (d. 1858)
  • 1818 – Mariano Álvarez, Filipino general and politician (d. 1924)
  • 1821 – Johann Josef Loschmidt, Austrian physicist and chemist (d. 1895)
  • 1821 – William Milligan, Scottish theologian, author, and educator (d. 1892)
  • 1824 – Jules Chevalier, French priest, founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (d. 1907)
  • 1830 – Paul Heyse, German author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
  • 1830 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer and academic (d. 1905)
  • 1831 – Saint Daniele Comboni, Italian missionary and saint (d. 1881)
  • 1835 – John Henry Kagi, American lawyer and activist (d. 1859)
  • 1835 – Eduard Strauss, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1916)
  • 1838 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1889)
  • 1851 – John Sebastian Little, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Arkansas (d. 1916)
  • 1851 – William Mitchell Ramsay, Scottish archaeologist and scholar (d. 1939)
  • 1852 – Augusta, Lady Gregory, Anglo-Irish landowner, playwright, and translator (d. 1932)
  • 1854 – Emil von Behring, German physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
  • 1857 – Christian Michelsen, Norwegian businessman and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1925)
  • 1858 – Liberty Hyde Bailey, American botanist and academic, co-founded the American Society for Horticultural Science (d. 1954)
  • 1860 – Waldemar Haffkine, Russian-Swiss bacteriologist and microbiologist (d. 1930)
  • 1864 – Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian violinist, composer, and conductor (Oslo Philharmonic) (d. 1935)
  • 1865 – Manuk Abeghian, Armenian author and scholar (d. 1944)
  • 1866 – Matthew Charlton, Australian miner and politician (d. 1948)
  • 1866 – Johan Vaaler, Norwegian inventor, often erroneously identified as the inventor of the Paper clip (d. 1910)
  • 1868 – Grace Chisholm Young, English mathematician (d. 1944)
  • 1869 – Stanisław Wojciechowski, Polish scholar and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Poland (d. 1953)
  • 1874 – Eugène Fiset, Canadian physician, general, and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1951)
  • 1874 – Harold L. Ickes, American journalist and politician, 32nd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1952)
  • 1878 – Reza Shah, Iranian king (d. 1944)
  • 1886 – Wladimir Burliuk, Ukrainian-Greek painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
  • 1887 – Marjorie Merriweather Post, American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded General Foods (d. 1973)
  • 1887 – Lütfi Kırdar, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (d. 1961)
  • 1879 – Benjamin R. Jacobs, American biochemist (d. 1963)
  • 1890 – Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician and mountaineer (d. 1980)
  • 1892 – James Basevi Ord, Mexican-American colonel (d. 1938)
  • 1897 – Jackson Scholz, American runner (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Gilberto Freyre, Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian and writer (d. 1987)
  • 1904 – George Brent, Irish-American actor (d. 1979)
  • 1904 – J. Pat O’Malley, English-American actor (d. 1985)
  • 1905 – Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, German lawyer and judge (d. 1944)
  • 1907 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (d. 1981)
  • 1909 – Jaroslava Muchová Syllabová, Czech painter (d. 1986)
  • 1912 – Lightnin’ Hopkins, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1982)
  • 1912 – Louis Paul Boon, Flemish journalist and author (d. 1979)
  • 1913 – Macdonald Carey, American actor (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Jack Fairman, English race car driver (d. 2002)
  • 1916 – Frank Coghlan, Jr., American actor and pilot (d. 2009)
  • 1916 – Fadil Hoxha, Kosovar commander and politician, 2nd President of Kosovo (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Harry James, American trumpet player, bandleader, and actor (d. 1983)
  • 1918 – Richard Ellmann, American author and critic (d. 1987)
  • 1918 – Punch Imlach, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 1987)
  • 1919 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – E. Donnall Thomas, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Madelyn Pugh, American television writer and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Eddie Calvert, English trumpeter (d. 1978)
  • 1926 – Ben Johnston, American composer and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
  • 1927 – Christian Marquand, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2000)
  • 1927 – Carl Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
  • 1928 – Bob Wilber, American clarinetist and saxophonist (d. 2019)
  • 1930 – Zhores Alferov, Belarusian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Alan Bean, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Arif Mardin, Turkish-American record producer (d. 2006)
  • 1933 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American lawyer and judge
  • 1933 – Philippe de Broca, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1934 – Richard Layard, Baron Layard, English economist and academic
  • 1934 – Kanshi Ram, Indian politician (d. 2006)
  • 1935 – David Andrews, Irish politician, 21st Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ireland
  • 1935 – Judd Hirsch, American actor
  • 1935 – Jimmy Swaggart, American pastor and television host
  • 1935 – Leonid Yengibarov, Russian-Armenian clown and boxer (d. 1972)
  • 1936 – Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (d. 1986)
  • 1937 – Marcus Raichle, American neurologist and physiologist
  • 1937 – Valentin Rasputin, Russian environmentalist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Charles Lloyd, American saxophonist and flute player
  • 1939 – Ted Kaufman, American engineer and politician
  • 1939 – Robert Nye, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – Julie Tullis, English mountaineer (d. 1986)
  • 1940 – Frank Dobson, English politician, Secretary of State for Health (d. 2019)
  • 1940 – Phil Lesh, American bassist
  • 1941 – Mike Love, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1941 – Carolyn Hansson, Canadian materials engineer
  • 1943 – David Cronenberg, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1943 – Lynda La Plante, English actress, screenwriter, and author
  • 1943 – Michael Scott-Joynt, English bishop (d. 2014)
  • 1943 – Sly Stone, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
  • 1943 – The Iron Sheik, Iranian-American wrestler and actor
  • 1944 – Chi Cheng, Taiwanese runner and politician
  • 1944 – Jacques Doillon, French director and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Francis Mankiewicz, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1944 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1945 – Mark J. Green, American lawyer and politician
  • 1946 – Bobby Bonds, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
  • 1946 – John Dempsey, English born Irish international footballer, centre-back and manager
  • 1947 – Ry Cooder, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1947 – Gino Ferrin, German footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Juraj Kukura, Slovak-German actor
  • 1948 – Kate Bornstein, American author and activist
  • 1948 – Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (d. 2003)
  • 1950 – Jørgen Olsen, Danish singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Kurt Koch, Swiss cardinal
  • 1951 – David Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool, English educator and politician
  • 1952 – Howard Devoto, English singer-songwriter
  • 1952 – Philip Green, English businessman
  • 1952 – Howard Koh, American physician and politician, 14th United States Assistant Secretary for Health
  • 1953 – Richard Bruton, Irish economist and politician, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
  • 1953 – Heather Graham Pozzessere, American author
  • 1953 – Kumba Ialá, Bissau-Guinean educator and politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2014)
  • 1954 – Massimo Bubola, Italian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1954 – Isobel Buchanan, Scottish soprano and actress
  • 1954 – Bob Budiansky, American author and illustrator
  • 1954 – Henry Marsh, American runner and businessman, co-founded MonaVie
  • 1954 – Craig Wasson, American actor
  • 1955 – Mohsin Khan, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1955 – Dee Snider, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1956 – Clay Matthews, Jr., American football player and coach
  • 1957 – Joaquim de Almeida, Portuguese-American actor
  • 1957 – Víctor Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1957 – David Silverman, American animator, director, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Anne Davies, English television presenter and newsreader
  • 1959 – Harold Baines, American baseball player and coach
  • 1959 – Renny Harlin, Finnish director and producer
  • 1959 – Lisa Holton, American journalist and author
  • 1959 – Ben Okri, Nigerian poet and author
  • 1960 – Mike Pagliarulo, American baseball player and coach
  • 1960 – Phil Walsh, Australian rules footballer and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1961 – Terry Cummings, American basketball player and singer
  • 1961 – Craig Ludwig, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1962 – Terence Trent D’Arby, American singer-songwriter
  • 1962 – Jimmy Baio, American actor
  • 1963 – Bret Michaels, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1964 – Davide Pinato, Italian footballer
  • 1964 – Rockwell, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1965 – Sunetra Gupta, Indian epidemiologist, author, and academic
  • 1965 – Robyn Malcolm, New Zealand actress
  • 1967 – Naoko Takeuchi, Japanese manga artist, creator of Sailor Moon
  • 1968 – Kahimi Karie, Japanese singer
  • 1968 – Mark McGrath, American singer-songwriter and television host
  • 1968 – Terje Riis-Johansen, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy
  • 1968 – Sabrina Salerno, Italian singer-songwriter, actress, and producer
  • 1969 – Rona Ambrose, Canadian journalist and politician, former Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
  • 1969 – Gianluca Festa, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1969 – Yutaka Take, Japanese jockey
  • 1970 – Christine Anu, Australian singer
  • 1970 – Naka Drotske, South African rugby player
  • 1970 – Derek Parra, American speed skater and coach
  • 1971 – Penny Lancaster, English model and photographer
  • 1971 – Joanne Wise, English long jumper
  • 1972 – Mark Hoppus, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
  • 1972 – Holger Stromberg, German chef
  • 1972 – Mike Tomlin, American football player and coach
  • 1973 – Robin Hunicke, American video game designer and producer
  • 1973 – Masayuki Naruse, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
  • 1974 – Robert Fick, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Eva Longoria, American actress and producer
  • 1975 – Veselin Topalov, Bulgarian chess player
  • 1975 – Darcy Tucker, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – will.i.am, American rapper, producer, and actor
  • 1976 – Katherine Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1976 – Abhay Deol, Indian actor
  • 1976 – Cara Pifko, Canadian actress
  • 1977 – Joe Hahn, American DJ, producer, and director
  • 1977 – Brian Tee, Japanese-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1978 – Takeru Kobayashi, Japanese competitive eater
  • 1979 – Kyle Mills, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1979 – Kevin Youkilis, American baseball player and scout
  • 1980 – Freddie Bynum, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Eric Grothe, Jr. Australian rugby league player and guitarist
  • 1980 – Claudiney Ramos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1981 – Young Buck, American rapper, producer, and actor
  • 1981 – Mikael Forssell, German-Finnish footballer
  • 1981 – Veronica Maggio, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Jens Salumäe, Estonian skier
  • 1982 – Tom Budge, Australian actor
  • 1982 – Emily Dunn, American actress and dancer
  • 1982 – Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, Kenyan runner
  • 1983 – Sean Biggerstaff, Scottish actor
  • 1983 – Umut Bulut, Turkish footballer
  • 1983 – Ben Hilfenhaus, Australian cricketer
  • 1983 – Kostas Kaimakoglou, Greek basketball player
  • 1983 – Golda Marcus, Salvadoran swimmer
  • 1983 – Daryl Murphy, Irish footballer
  • 1983 – Heiko Niidas, Estonian basketball player
  • 1983 – Ricky Sekhon, English actor
  • 1983 – Yo Yo Honey Singh, Indian music producer
  • 1984 – Badradine Belloumou, French-Algerian footballer
  • 1984 – Malin Buska, Swedish actress
  • 1984 – Olivier Jean, Canadian speed skater
  • 1984 – Kostas Vasileiadis, Greek basketball player
  • 1984 – Wilson Aparecido Xavier Júnior, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Eric Decker, American football player
  • 1988 – Éver Guzmán, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – James Reimer, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Jolo Revilla, Filipino actor and politician
  • 1988 – Alexander Sims, English race car driver
  • 1989 – Sam Baldock, English footballer
  • 1989 – Bryce Gibbs, Australian footballer
  • 1989 – Sandro, Brazilian international footballer, midfielder
  • 1989 – Gil Roberts, American sprinter
  • 1989 – Adrien Silva, Portuguese footballer
  • 1989 – Caitlin Wachs, American actress
  • 1990 – Siobhan Magnus, American singer-songwriter
  • 1991 – Tavon Austin, American footballer
  • 1991 – Kurt Baptiste, Australian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Xavier Henry, American basketball player
  • 1996 – Seonaid McIntosh, Scottish sports shooter
  • 2000 – Kristian Kostov, Russian-Bulgarian singer-songwriter

Deaths on March 15

  • 44 BC – Julius Caesar, Roman general and statesman (b. 100 BC)
  • 220 – Cao Cao, Chinese general, warlord and statesman (b. 155)
  • 493 – Odoacer, the first king of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire (b. 433)
  • 752 – Pope Zachary
  • 963 – Romanos II, Byzantine emperor (b. 938)
  • 990 – Siegfried I (the Older), German nobleman
  • 1086 – Richilde, Countess of Hainaut, Flemish consort and regent (b. c. 1018)
  • 1124 – Ernulf, Bishop of Rochester (b. c. 1040)
  • 1190 – Isabella of Hainault, queen of Philip II of France (b. 1170)
  • 1311 – Walter V, Count of Brienne (b. 1275)
  • 1311 – Thomas III d’Autremencourt, Lord of Salona, Marshal of Achaea
  • 1311 – Albert Pallavicini, Margrave of Bodonitza
  • 1311 – George I Ghisi, Triarch of Euboea, Baron of Chalandritsa, Lord of Tinos, Mykonos, Serifos and Keos
  • 1327 – Albert of Schwarzburg, grand preceptor of the Knights Hospitaller
  • 1346 – Shah Jalal, Sufi saint of Bengal (b. 1271).
  • 1536 – Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, Ottoman politician, 35th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1493)
  • 1575 – Annibale Padovano, Italian organist and composer (b. 1527)
  • 1644 – Countess Louise Juliana of Nassau (b. 1576)
  • 1657 – David Pardo, Dutch rabbi and scholar (b. 1591)
  • 1673 – Salvator Rosa, Italian painter and poet (b. 1615)
  • 1711 – Eusebio Kino, Italian priest and missionary (b. 1645)
  • 1820 – Clement Mary Hofbauer, Austrian priest and saint (b. 1751)
  • 1832 – Otto Wilhelm Masing, Estonian linguist and clergyman (b. 1763)
  • 1842 – Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1760)
  • 1849 – Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti, Italian cardinal and linguist (b. 1774)
  • 1891 – Joseph Bazalgette, English engineer and academic (b. 1819)
  • 1897 – James Joseph Sylvester, English mathematician and academic (b. 1814)
  • 1898 – Henry Bessemer, English engineer and businessman (b. 1813)
  • 1921 – Talaat Pasha, Ottoman politician, 281st Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1874)
  • 1927 – Hector Rason, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1858)
  • 1933 – Gustavo Jiménez, Peruvian colonel and politician, 73rd President of Peru (b. 1886)
  • 1937 – H. P. Lovecraft, American short story writer, editor, and novelist (b. 1890)
  • 1938 – Nikolai Bukharin, Russian journalist, and politician (b. 1888)
  • 1939 – Luis Barceló, Spanish colonel (b. 1896)
  • 1941 – Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian-German painter (b. 1864)
  • 1944 – Otto von Below, Prussian general (b. 1857)
  • 1951 – John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer and academic (b. 1889)
  • 1957 – Ernst Nobs, Swiss politician (b. 1886)
  • 1959 – Lester Young, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1909)
  • 1962 – Charles Bartliff, American soccer player (b. 1886)
  • 1962 – Arthur Compton, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
  • 1966 – Abe Saperstein, American basketball player and coach (b. 1902)
  • 1969 – Miles Malleson, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1888)
  • 1969 – Musashiyama Takeshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 33rd Yokozuna (b. 1909)
  • 1970 – Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian author and poet (b. 1897)
  • 1971 – Jean-Pierre Monseré, Belgian cyclist (b. 1948)
  • 1972 – Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1910)
  • 1975 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek-Argentinian businessman (b. 1906)
  • 1977 – Hubert Aquin, Canadian author and activist (b. 1929)
  • 1977 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler and referee (b. 1921)
  • 1981 – René Clair, French director and screenwriter (b. 1898)
  • 1983 – Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian footballer and manager (b. 1905)
  • 1983 – Rebecca West, English author and critic (b. 1892)
  • 1985 – Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and author (b. 1921)
  • 1986 – Alexandru Giugaru, Romanian actor (b. 1897)
  • 1987 – Douglas Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of National Defence (b. 1899)
  • 1988 – Dmitri Polyakov, Ukrainian general and spy (b. 1926)
  • 1989 – Muhammad Jameel Didi, Maldivian poet and politician (b. 1915)
  • 1990 – Farzad Bazoft, Iranian-English journalist (b. 1958)
  • 1990 – Tom Harmon, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1919)
  • 1991 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1906)
  • 1992 – Rahi Masoom Raza, Indian Urdu poet (b.1927)
  • 1997 – Gail Davis, American actress (b. 1925)
  • 1997 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French painter (b. 1906)
  • 1998 – Tim Maia, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
  • 1998 – Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author (b. 1903)
  • 1999 – Guy D’Artois, Canadian soldier (b. 1917)
  • 2001 – Gaetano Cozzi, Italian historian and academic (b. 1922)
  • 2001 – Ann Sothern, American actress and singer (b. 1909)
  • 2003 – Thora Hird, English actress (b. 1911)
  • 2003 – Paul Stojanovich, American television producer, created World’s Wildest Police Videos (b. 1956)
  • 2004 – Philippe Lemaire, French actor (b. 1927)
  • 2004 – Bill Pickering, New Zealand-American scientist and engineer (b. 1910)
  • 2004 – John Pople, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Bob Bellear, Australian engineer and judge (b. 1944)
  • 2005 – Otar Korkia, Georgian basketball player and coach (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Shoji Nishio, Japanese martial artist (b. 1927)
  • 2006 – Georgios Rallis, Greek lieutenant and politician, 173rd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1918)
  • 2006 – Red Storey, Canadian football player and referee (b. 1918)
  • 2007 – Charles Harrelson, American murderer (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Bowie Kuhn, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Stuart Rosenberg, American director and producer (b. 1927)
  • 2008 – Mikey Dread, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1954)
  • 2008 – Vytautas Kernagis, Lithuanian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1951)
  • 2008 – G. David Low, American astronaut and engineer (b. 1956)
  • 2008 – Ken Reardon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Sarla Thakral, First Indian woman to earn a pilot’s license. (b. 1914)
  • 2009 – Ron Silver, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1946)
  • 2011 – Nate Dogg, American rapper (b. 1969)
  • 2011 – Smiley Culture, English singer and DJ (b. 1963)
  • 2012 – Mervyn Davies, Welsh rugby player (b. 1946)
  • 2012 – Eb Gaines, American businessman and diplomat (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Luis Gonzales, Filipino actor (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Bernardino González Ruíz, Panamanian physician and politician, President of Panama (b. 1911)
  • 2012 – Fran Matera, American illustrator (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Dave Philley, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – James Bonk, American chemist and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Booth Gardner, American businessman and politician, 19th Governor of Washington (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Hardrock Gunter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Shannon Larratt, Canadian publisher, founded BMEzine (b. 1973)
  • 2013 – Terry Lightfoot, English clarinet player (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Leverne McDonnell, Australian actress (b. 1963).
  • 2013 – Masamichi Noro, Japanese-French martial artist, founded Kinomichi (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Kallam Anji Reddy, Indian engineer and businessman, founded Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (b. 1940)
  • 2013 – Peter Worsley, English sociologist (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Felipe Zetter, Mexican footballer (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Scott Asheton, American drummer (b. 1949).
  • 2014 – David Brenner, American comedian, actor, and author (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Bo Callaway, American soldier and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Army (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Clarissa Dickson Wright, English chef, author, and television personality (b. 1947)
  • 2014 – Everett L. Fullam, American priest and scholar (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Cees Veerman, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1943)
  • 2015 – Collins Chabane, South African politician (b. 1960)
  • 2015 – Robert Clatworthy, English sculptor and educator (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Narayan Desai, Indian author and activist (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Sally Forrest, American actress and dancer (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Curtis Gans, American political scientist and author (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Mike Porcaro, American bass player (b. 1955)
  • 2016 – Sylvia Anderson, English voice actress and television and film producer (b. 1927)
  • 2016 – Asa Briggs, English historian and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2016 – Daryl Coley, American singer and pastor (b. 1955)
  • 2016 – Seru Rabeni, Fijian rugby player (b. 1978)
  • 2019 – Larry DiTillio, American film and TV series writer (b. 1948)
  • 2020 – Vittorio Gregotti, Italian architect (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances on March 15

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aristobulus of Britannia
    • Clemens Maria Hofbauer
    • Leocritia
    • Longinus
    • Louise de Marillac
    • Raymond of Fitero
    • March 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Belarus)
  • Earliest day on which Birth of Benito Juárez can fall, while March 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of March. (Mexico)
  • Earliest day on which Palm Sunday can fall, while April 18 is the latest; celebrated on the sixth Sunday of Lent. (Christianity)
  • Hōnen Matsuri (Japan)
  • International Day Against Police Brutality (International)
  • J. J. Roberts’ Birthday (Liberia)
  • National Day, celebrating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 (Hungary)
  • World Consumer Rights Day (International)
  • World Contact Day
  • World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film (International)
  • World Speech Day
  • Youth Day (Palau)

March 15- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 14- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeat the forces of the Catholic League under Charles, Duke of Mayenne, during the French Wars of Religion.
  • 1647 – Thirty Years’ War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm.
  • 1663 – According to his own account, Otto von Guericke completes his book De Vacuo.
  • 1674 – The Third Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of Ronas Voe results in the Dutch East India Company ship Wapen van Rotterdam being captured with a death toll of up to 300 Dutch crew and soldiers.
  • 1757 – Admiral Sir John Byng is executed by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch for breach of the Articles of War.
  • 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Spanish forces capture Fort Charlotte in Mobile, Alabama, the last British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans.
  • 1794 – Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin.
  • 1885 – The Mikado, a light opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, receives its first public performance at the Savoy Theatre in London.
  • 1900 – The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.
  • 1903 – Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first national wildlife refuge in the US, is established by President Theodore Roosevelt.
  • 1920 – In the second of the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, about 80% of the population in Zone II votes to remain part of Weimar Germany.
  • 1926 – The El Virilla train accident, Costa Rica, kills 248 people and wounds another 93 when a train falls off a bridge over the Río Virilla between Heredia and Tibás.
  • 1931 – Alam Ara, India’s first talking film, is released.
  • 1939 – Slovakia declares independence under German pressure.
  • 1942 – Anne Miller becomes the first American patient to be treated with penicillin, under the care of Orvan Hess and John Bumstead.
  • 1943 – The liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto is completed.
  • 1945 – The R.A.F. drop the Grand Slam bomb in action for the first time, on a railway viaduct near Bielefeld, Germany.
  • 1951 – Korean War: United Nations troops recapture Seoul for the second time.
  • 1961 – A USAF B-52 bomber crashes near near Yuba City, California whilst carrying nuclear weapons.
  • 1964 – Jack Ruby is convicted of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the assumed assassin of John F. Kennedy.
  • 1967 – The body of U.S. President John F. Kennedy is moved to a permanent burial place at Arlington National Cemetery.
  • 1978 – The Israel Defense Forces launch Operation Litani, a seven-day campaign to invade and occupy southern Lebanon.
  • 1980 – LOT Flight 7 crashes during final approach near Warsaw, Poland, killing 87 people, including a 14-man American boxing team.
  • 1982 – The South African government bombs the headquarters of the African National Congress in London.
  • 1988 – In the Johnson South Reef Skirmish Chinese forces defeat Vietnamese forces in an altercation over control of one of the Spratly Islands.
  • 1995 – Norman Thagard becomes the first American astronaut to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle.
  • 2006 – The 2006 Chadian coup d’état attempt ends in failure.
  • 2007 – The Nandigram violence in Nandigram, West Bengal results in the deaths of at least 14 people.
  • 2008 – A series of riots, protests, and demonstrations erupt in Lhasa and subsequently spread elsewhere in Tibet.
  • 2019 – Cyclone Idai makes landfall near Beira, Mozambique, causing devastating floods and over 1000 deaths.

Births on March 14

  • 1638 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic (d. 1710)
  • 1790 – Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver (d. 1863)
  • 1800 – James Bogardus, American inventor and architect (d. 1874)
  • 1801 – Kristjan Jaak Peterson, Estonian poet (d. 1822)
  • 1804 – Johann Strauss I, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1849)
  • 1813 – Joseph P. Bradley, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1892)
  • 1820 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (d. 1878)
  • 1822 – Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies (d. 1889)
  • 1823 – Théodore de Banville, French poet and critic (d. 1891)
  • 1833 – Frederic Shields, English painter and illustrator (d. 1911)
  • 1833 – Lucy Hobbs Taylor, American dentist and educator (d. 1910)
  • 1835 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer and historian (d. 1910)
  • 1836 – Isabella Beeton, English author of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (d. 1865)
  • 1837 – Charles Ammi Cutter, American librarian (d. 1903)
  • 1844 – Umberto I of Italy (d. 1900)
  • 1844 – Arthur O’Shaughnessy, English poet and herpetologist (d. 1881)
  • 1847 – Castro Alves, Brazilian poet and playwright (d. 1871)
  • 1853 – Ferdinand Hodler, Swiss painter (d. 1918)
  • 1854 – Paul Ehrlich, German physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1915)
  • 1854 – John Lane, English publisher, co-founded The Bodley Head (d. 1925)
  • 1854 – Alexandru Macedonski, Romanian author and poet (d. 1920)
  • 1854 – Thomas R. Marshall, American lawyer and politician, 28th Vice President of the United States of America (d. 1925)
  • 1862 – Vilhelm Bjerknes, Norwegian physicist and meteorologist (d. 1951)
  • 1863 – Casey Jones, American engineer (d. 1900)
  • 1868 – Emily Murphy, Canadian jurist, author, and activist (d. 1933)
  • 1869 – Algernon Blackwood, English author and playwright (d. 1951)
  • 1874 – Anton Philips, Dutch businessman, co-founded Philips Electronics (d. 1951)
  • 1879 – Albert Einstein, German-American physicist, engineer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
  • 1882 – Wacław Sierpiński, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1969)
  • 1885 – Raoul Lufbery, French-American soldier and pilot (d. 1918)
  • 1886 – Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (d. 1964)
  • 1887 – Sylvia Beach, American-French publisher, founded Shakespeare and Company (d. 1962)
  • 1898 – Reginald Marsh, French-American painter and illustrator (d. 1954)
  • 1899 – K. C. Irving, Canadian businessman, founded Irving Oil (d. 1992)
  • 1901 – Sid Atkinson, South African hurdler and long jumper (d. 1977)
  • 1903 – Adolph Gottlieb, American painter and sculptor (d. 1974)
  • 1904 – Doris Eaton Travis, American actress and dancer (d. 2010)
  • 1905 – Raymond Aron, French journalist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1983)
  • 1906 – Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Turkish composer and educator (d. 1972)
  • 1908 – Ed Heinemann, American designer of military aircraft (d. 1991)
  • 1908 – Maurice Merleau-Ponty, French philosopher and academic (d. 1961)
  • 1908 – Philip Conrad Vincent, English engineer and businessman, founded Vincent Motorcycles (d. 1979)
  • 1911 – Akira Yoshizawa, Japanese origamist (d. 2005)
  • 1912 – Cliff Bastin, English footballer (d. 1991)
  • 1912 – Les Brown, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2001)
  • 1912 – W. Graham Claytor, Jr. American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – W. Willard Wirtz, American lawyer and politician, 10th United States Secretary of Labor (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Lee Hays, American singer-songwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1914 – Bill Owen, English actor and songwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1914 – Lee Petty, American race car driver and businessman, founded Petty Enterprises (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – Alexander Brott, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2005)
  • 1916 – Horton Foote, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1917 – Alan Smith, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Zoia Horn, American librarian (d. 2014)
  • 1919 – Max Shulman, American author and screenwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1920 – Hank Ketcham, American author and cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (d. 2001)
  • 1920 – Dorothy Tyler-Odam, English high jumper (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – S. Truett Cathy, American businessman, founded Chick-fil-A (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Ada Louise Huxtable, American author and critic (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1923 – Diane Arbus, American photographer (d. 1971)
  • 1925 – William Clay Ford, Sr., American businessman (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Joseph A. Unanue, American sergeant and businessman (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – François Morel, Canadian pianist, composer, conductor, and educator (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Frank Borman, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1928 – Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Spanish environmentalist (d. 1980)
  • 1929 – Bob Goalby, American golfer
  • 1932 – Mark Murphy, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
  • 1932 – Naina Yeltsina, Russian wife of Boris Yeltsin, First Lady of Russia
  • 1933 – Michael Caine, English actor and author
  • 1933 – Quincy Jones, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer
  • 1934 – Eugene Cernan, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)
  • 1934 – Paul Rader, American 15th General of The Salvation Army
  • 1936 – Bob Charles, New Zealand golfer
  • 1937 – Peter van der Merwe, South African cricketer and referee (d. 2013)
  • 1938 – Eleanor Bron, English actress and screenwriter
  • 1938 – Jan Crouch, American televangelist, co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – John Gleeson, Australian cricketer (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – Raymond J. Barry, American actor
  • 1939 – Bertrand Blier, French director and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Yves Boisset, French director and screenwriter
  • 1941 – Wolfgang Petersen, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1942 – Rita Tushingham, English actress
  • 1943 – Anita Morris, American actress and singer (d. 1994)
  • 1944 – Boris Brott, Canadian composer and conductor
  • 1944 – Václav Nedomanský, Czech ice hockey player and manager
  • 1944 – Bobby Smith, English footballer and manager
  • 1944 – Tom Stannage, Australian historian and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1945 – Jasper Carrott, English comedian, actor, and game show host
  • 1945 – Michael Martin Murphey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1945 – Walter Parazaider, American saxophonist
  • 1946 – William Lerach, American securities and class action attorney
  • 1946 – Wes Unseld, American basketball player, coach, and manager
  • 1947 – Roy Budd, English pianist and composer (d. 1993)
  • 1947 – William J. Jefferson, American lawyer and politician
  • 1947 – Jona Lewie, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1948 – Tom Coburn, American physician and politician (d. 2020)
  • 1948 – Billy Crystal, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1948 – Theo Jansen, Dutch sculptor
  • 1950 – Rick Dees, American actor and radio host
  • 1951 – Jerry Greenfield, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Ben & Jerry’s
  • 1953 – Nick Keir, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1955 – Jonathan Kaufer, American director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1956 – Alexey Pajitnov, Russian video game designer and computer engineer, creator of Tetris
  • 1956 – Butch Wynegar, American baseball player and coach
  • 1957 – Tad Williams, American author
  • 1958 – Albert II, Prince of Monaco
  • 1959 – Laila Robins, American actress
  • 1959 – Tamara Tunie, American actress
  • 1960 – Heidi Hammel, American astronomer and academic
  • 1961 – Garry Jack, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1961 – Mike Lazaridis, Turkish–Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded BlackBerry Limited
  • 1963 – Bruce Reid, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1965 – Kevin Brown, American baseball player and coach
  • 1965 – Aamir Khan, Indian film actor, producer, and director
  • 1965 – Billy Sherwood, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1965 – Kevin Williamson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Jonas Elmer, Danish actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Elise Neal, American actress and producer
  • 1968 – Megan Follows, Canadian-American actress
  • 1969 – Larry Johnson, American basketball player and actor
  • 1970 – Kristian Bush, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Irom Chanu Sharmila, Indian poet and activist
  • 1973 – Rohit Shetty, Indian film director and producer
  • 1974 – Patrick Traverse, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Steve Harper, English footballer and referee
  • 1975 – Dmitri Markov, Belarusian-Australian pole vaulter
  • 1976 – Phil Vickery, English rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Vadims Fjodorovs, Latvian footballer and coach
  • 1977 – Naoki Matsuda, Japanese footballer (d. 2011)
  • 1977 – Jeremy Paul, New Zealand-Australian rugby player
  • 1978 – Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
  • 1979 – Nicolas Anelka, French footballer and manager
  • 1979 – Chris Klein, American actor
  • 1979 – Sead Ramović, German-Bosnian footballer
  • 1980 – Aaron Brown, English footballer and coach
  • 1980 – Ben Herring, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1981 – Bobby Jenks, American baseball player
  • 1981 – George Wilson, American football player
  • 1982 – Carlos Marinelli, Argentinian footballer
  • 1982 – François Sterchele, Belgian footballer (d. 2008)
  • 1983 – Bakhtiyar Artayev, Kazakh boxer
  • 1986 – Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1986 – Jessica Gallagher, Australian skier and cyclist
  • 1986 – Andy Taylor, English footballer
  • 1988 – Stephen Curry, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Rico Freimuth, German decathlete
  • 1989 – Kevin Lacroix, Canadian race car driver
  • 1990 – Joe Allen, Welsh footballer
  • 1990 – Tamás Kádár, Hungarian footballer
  • 1990 – Haru Kuroki, Japanese actress
  • 1990 – Kolbeinn Sigþórsson, Icelandic footballer
  • 1991 – Emir Bekrić, Serbian hurdler
  • 1991 – László Szűcs, Hungarian footballer
  • 1991 – Steven Zellner, German footballer
  • 1993 – Philipp Ziereis, German footballer
  • 1994 – Ansel Elgort, American actor and DJ
  • 1996 – Batuhan Altıntaş, Turkish footballer
  • 1997 – Simone Biles, American gymnast
  • 2008 – Abby Ryder Fortson, American actress

Deaths on March 14

  • 840 – Einhard, Frankish scholar
  • 968 – Matilda of Ringelheim, Saxon queen (b. c. 896)
  • 1555 – John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (b. 1485)
  • 1647 – Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (b. 1584)
  • 1648 – Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English general and politician (b. 1584)
  • 1696 – Jean Domat, French lawyer and jurist (b. 1625)
  • 1748 – George Wade, Irish field marshal and politician (b. 1673)
  • 1757 – John Byng, British admiral and politician, 11th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1704)
  • 1791 – Johann Salomo Semler, German historian and critic (b. 1725)
  • 1803 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet (b. 1724)
  • 1811 – Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1735)
  • 1823 – Charles François Dumouriez, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1739)
  • 1860 – Carl Ritter von Ghega, Italian engineer, designed the Semmering railway (b. 1802)
  • 1877 – Juan Manuel de Rosas, Argentinian general and politician, 17th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (b. 1793)
  • 1883 – Karl Marx, German philosopher and theorist (b. 1818)
  • 1884 – Quintino Sella, Italian economist and politician, Italian Minister of Finances (b. 1827)
  • 1932 – George Eastman, American inventor and businessman, founded Eastman Kodak (b. 1854)
  • 1953 – Klement Gottwald, Czechoslovak Communist politician and 14th President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1896)
  • 1957 – Evagoras Pallikarides, Cypriot activist (b. 1938)
  • 1965 – Marion Jones Farquhar, American tennis player (b. 1879)
  • 1968 – Erwin Panofsky, German historian and academic (b. 1892)
  • 1969 – Ben Shahn, Lithuanian-American painter, illustrator, and educator (b. 1898)
  • 1973 – Howard H. Aiken, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1900)
  • 1973 – Chic Young, American cartoonist (b. 1901)
  • 1975 – Susan Hayward, American actress (b. 1917)
  • 1976 – Busby Berkeley, American director and choreographer (b. 1895)
  • 1977 – Fannie Lou Hamer, American activist and philanthropist (b. 1917)
  • 1980 – Mohammad Hatta, Indonesian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Indonesia (b. 1902)
  • 1980 – Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Spanish environmentalist (b. 1928)
  • 1984 – Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet (b. 1915)
  • 1989 – Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (b. 1892)
  • 1991 – Howard Ashman, American playwright and composer (b. 1950)
  • 1995 – William Alfred Fowler, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
  • 1997 – Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-American director and producer (b. 1907)
  • 1999 – Kirk Alyn, American actor (b. 1910)
  • 1999 – John Broome, American author (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Jack Goldstein, Canadian-American painter (b. 1945)
  • 2003 – Jean-Luc Lagardère, French engineer and businessman (b. 1928)
  • 2006 – Lennart Meri, Estonian director and politician, 2nd President of Estonia (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Lucie Aubrac, French educator and activist (b. 1912)
  • 2008 – Chiara Lubich, Italian activist, co-founded the Focolare Movement (b. 1920)
  • 2010 – Peter Graves, American actor (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Pierre Schoendoerffer, French director and screenwriter (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general and politician, 4th President of Malta (b. 1913)
  • 2013 – Jack Greene, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Aramais Sahakyan, Armenian poet and author (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Ieng Sary, Vietnamese-Cambodian politician, Cambodian Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Tony Benn, English politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Meir Har-Zion, Israeli commander (b. 1934)
  • 2016 – John W. Cahn, German-American metallurgist and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2016 – Peter Maxwell Davies, English composer and conductor (b. 1934)
  • 2016 – Suranimala Rajapaksha, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
  • 2018 – Jim Bowen, English stand-up comedian and TV personality (b. 1937)
  • 2018 – Marielle Franco, Brazilian politician and human rights activist (b. 1979)
  • 2018 – Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author (b. 1942)
  • 2018 – Liam O’Flynn, Irish uileann piper (b. 1945)
  • 2019 – Jake Phelps, American skateboarder and Thrasher editor-in-chief (b. 1962)

Holidays and observances on March 14

  • Christian feast day:
    • Leobinus
    • March 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Andorra)
  • Heroes’ Day (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
  • Mother Tongue Day (Estonia)
  • Nanakshahi New Year, first day of the month of Chet (Sikhism)
  • Pi Day
  • Summer Day (Albania)
  • White Day on which men give gifts to women; complementary to Valentine’s Day (Japan and other Asian nations)

March 14- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.
  • 1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.
  • 1226 – Khwarazmian sultan Jalal ad-Din conquers the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
  • 1230 – Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II defeats Theodore of Epirus in the Battle of Klokotnitsa.
  • 1500 – The fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas.
  • 1701 – Safavid troops retreat from Basra, ending a three year occupation.
  • 1765 – After a campaign by the writer Voltaire, judges in Paris posthumously exonerate Jean Calas of murdering his son. Calas had been tortured and executed in 1762 on the charge, though his son may have actually committed suicide.
  • 1776 – The Wealth of Nations by Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith is published.
  • 1796 – Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais.
  • 1811 – Paraguayan forces defeat Manuel Belgrano at the Battle of Tacuarí.
  • 1815 – Francis Ronalds describes the first battery-operated clock in the Philosophical Magazine
  • 1841 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the United States v. The Amistad case that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally.
  • 1842 – Giuseppe Verdi’s third opera, Nabucco, receives its première performance in Milan; its success establishes Verdi as one of Italy’s foremost opera composers.
  • 1842 – The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush.
  • 1847 – Mexican–American War: The first large-scale amphibious assault in U.S. history is launched in the Siege of Veracruz.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between two ironclad warships.
  • 1908 – Inter Milan was founded on Football Club Internazionale, following a schism from A.C. Milan.
  • 1916 – Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa leads nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against the border town of Columbus, New Mexico.
  • 1933 – Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress, the first of his New Deal policies
  • 1942 – World War II: Dutch East Indies unconditionally surrendered to the Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang, West Java, and the Japanese completed their Dutch East Indies campaign
  • 1944 – World War II: Soviet Army planes attack Tallinn, Estonia.
  • 1945 – World War II: A coup d’état by Japanese forces in French Indochina removes the French from power.
  • 1946 – Bolton Wanderers stadium disaster at Burnden Park, Bolton, England, kills 33 and injures hundreds more.
  • 1954 – McCarthyism: CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, “A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy”, produced by Fred Friendly.
  • 1956 – Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization policy.
  • 1957 – The 8.6 Mw  Andreanof Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands, causing over $5 million in damage from ground movement and a destructive tsunami.
  • 1959 – The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
  • 1960 – Dr. Belding Hibbard Scribner implants for the first time a shunt he invented into a patient, which allows the patient to receive hemodialysis on a regular basis.
  • 1961 – Sputnik 9 successfully launches, carrying a dog and a human dummy, and demonstrating that the Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight.
  • 1967 – Trans World Airlines Flight 553 crashes in a field in Concord Township, Ohio following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron, killing 26 people.
  • 1974 – The Mars 7 Flyby bus releases the descent module too early, missing Mars.
  • 1976 – Forty-two people die in the Cavalese cable car disaster, the worst cable-car accident to date.
  • 1977 – The Hanafi Siege: In a thirty-nine-hour standoff, armed Hanafi Muslims seize three Washington, D.C., buildings.
  • 1978 – President Soeharto inaugurated Jagorawi Toll Road, the first toll highway in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta, Bogor and Ciawi, West Java.
  • 1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp: Observers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia are treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permits Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day.2011 – Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights.

Births on March 9

  • 1454 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian cartographer and explorer (d. 1512)
  • 1564 – David Fabricius, German theologian, cartographer and astronomer (d. 1617)
  • 1568 – Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian saint (d. 1591)
  • 1662 – Franz Anton von Sporck, German noble (d. 1738)
  • 1697 – Friederike Caroline Neuber, German actress (d. 1760)
  • 1737 – Josef Mysliveček, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1781)
  • 1749 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French journalist and politician (d. 1791)
  • 1753 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general (d. 1800)
  • 1758 – Franz Joseph Gall, German neuroanatomist and physiologist (d. 1828)
  • 1763 – William Cobbett, English journalist and author (d. 1835)
  • 1806 – Edwin Forrest, American actor and philanthropist (d. 1872)
  • 1814 – Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and playwright (d. 1861)
  • 1815 – David Davis, American jurist and politician (d. 1886)
  • 1820 – Samuel Blatchford, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1893)
  • 1824 – Amasa Leland Stanford, American businessman and politician, founded Stanford University (d. 1893)
  • 1847 – Martin Pierre Marsick, Belgian violinist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)
  • 1850 – Hamo Thornycroft, English sculptor and academic (d. 1925)
  • 1856 – Eddie Foy, Sr., American actor and dancer (d. 1928)
  • 1863 – Mary Harris Armor, American suffragist (d. 1950)
  • 1887 – Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician (d. 1976)
  • 1890 – Rupert Balfe, Australian footballer and lieutenant (d. 1915)
  • 1890 – Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian politician and diplomat, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1986)
  • 1891 – José P. Laurel, Filipino lawyer, politician and President of the Philippines (d. 1959)
  • 1892 – Mátyás Rákosi, Hungarian politician (d. 1971)
  • 1892 – Vita Sackville-West, English author, poet, and gardener (d. 1962)
  • 1902 – Will Geer, American actor (d. 1978)
  • 1904 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American soldier and engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (d. 2002)
  • 1910 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (d. 1981)
  • 1911 – Clara Rockmore, American classical violin prodigy and theremin player, (d. 1998)
  • 1915 – Johnnie Johnson, English air marshal and pilot (d. 2001)
  • 1918 – George Lincoln Rockwell, American sailor and politician, founded the American Nazi Party (d. 1967)
  • 1918 – Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (d. 2006)
  • 1920 – Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1921 – Carl Betz, American actor (d. 1978)
  • 1922 – Ian Turbott, New Zealand-Australian former diplomat and university administrator (d. 2016)
  • 1923 – James L. Buckley, American lawyer, judge, and politician
  • 1923 – André Courrèges, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
  • 1923 – Walter Kohn, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Joe Franklin, American radio and television host (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Gerald Bull, Canadian-American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
  • 1928 – Keely Smith, American singer and actress (d. 2017)
  • 1929 – Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese lawyer, politician and President of Guyana (d. 2002)
  • 1929 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish politician (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Qayyum Chowdhury, Bangladeshi painter and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Walter Mercado, Puerto Rican-American astrologer and actor (d. 2019)
  • 1933 – Lloyd Price, American R&B singer-songwriter
  • 1933 – David Weatherall, English physician, geneticist, and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1934 – Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1968)
  • 1934 – Joyce Van Patten, American actress
  • 1935 – Andrew Viterbi, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Qualcomm Inc.
  • 1936 – Mickey Gilley, American singer-songwriter and pianist[
  • 1936 – Marty Ingels, American actor and comedian (d. 2015)
  • 1937 – Bernard Landry, Canadian lawyer, politician and Premier of Quebec (d. 2018)
  • 1937 – Harry Neale, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1937 – Brian Redman, English race car driver
  • 1940 – Raul Julia, Puerto Rican-American actor (d. 1994)
  • 1941 – Jim Colbert, American golfer
  • 1941 – Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (d. 1976)
  • 1942 – Ion Caramitru, Romanian actor and artistic director
  • 1942 – Mark Lindsay, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer
  • 1943 – Bobby Fischer, American chess player and author (d. 2008)
  • 1944 – Lee Irvine, South African cricketer
  • 1945 – Robert Calvert, English singer-songwriter and playwright (d. 1988)
  • 1945 – Robin Trower, English rock guitarist and vocalist
  • 1946 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (d. 2014)
  • 1946 – Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1990)
  • 1946 – Bernd Hölzenbein, German footballer and scout
  • 1947 – Keri Hulme, New Zealand author and poet
  • 1948 – Emma Bonino, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1948 – Eric Fischl, American painter and sculptor
  • 1948 – Jeffrey Osborne, American singer and drummer
  • 1949 – Neil Hamilton, Welsh lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Doug Ault, American baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
  • 1950 – Andy North, American golfer
  • 1950 – Howard Shelley, English pianist and conductor
  • 1951 – Helen Zille, South African journalist, politician and Premier of the Western Cape1952 – Bill Beaumont, English rugby player and manager
  • 1954 – Carlos Ghosn, Brazilian-Lebanese-French business executive
  • 1954 – Bobby Sands, PIRA volunteer; Irish republican politician (d. 1981)
  • 1954 – Jock Taylor, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1982)
  • 1955 – Teo Fabi, Italian race car driver
  • 1955 – Józef Pinior, Polish academic and politician
  • 1956 – Mark Dantonio, American football player and coach
  • 1956 – Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
  • 1956 – David Willetts, English academic and politician
  • 1958 – Paul MacLean, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1959 – Takaaki Kajita, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1959 – Lonny Price, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Linda Fiorentino, American actress
  • 1961 – Rick Steiner, American wrestler
  • 1961 – Darrell Walker, American basketball player and coach
  • 1963 – Terry Mulholland, American baseball player
  • 1963 – Jean-Marc Vallée, Canadian director and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Juliette Binoche, French actress
  • 1964 – Phil Housley, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1965 – Brian Bosworth, American football player and actor
  • 1965 – Benito Santiago, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1966 – Brendan Canty, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1966 – Tony Lockett, Australian footballer
  • 1968 – Youri Djorkaeff, French footballer
  • 1969 – Kimberly Guilfoyle, American lawyer and journalist
  • 1970 – Naveen Jindal, Indian businessman and politician
  • 1970 – Martin Johnson, English rugby player and coach
  • 1971 – Emmanuel Lewis, American actor
  • 1972 – Jodey Arrington, United States politician
  • 1973 – Liam Griffin, English race car driver
  • 1975 – Juan Sebastián Verón, Argentinian footballer
  • 1977 – Radek Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor
  • 1981 – Antonio Bryant, American football player
  • 1981 – Clay Rapada, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Ryan Bayley, Australian cyclist
  • 1982 – Matt Bowen, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, Croatian tennis player
  • 1983 – Wayne Simien, American basketball player[
  • 1983 – Clint Dempsey, American international soccer player, forward
  • 1984 – Abdoulay Konko, French footballer
  • 1984 – Julia Mancuso, American skier
  • 1985 – Brent Burns, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Jesse Litsch, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Pastor Maldonado, Venezuelan race car driver
  • 1985 – Parthiv Patel, Indian cricketer
  • 1986 – Colin Greening, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Brittany Snow, American actress and producer
  • 1989 – Taeyeon, South Korean artist, member of Girls’ Generation
  • 1990 – Daley Blind, Dutch footballer
  • 1990 – Matt Robinson, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1990 – YG (rapper), American rapper
  • 1991 – Jooyoung, Korean singer-songwriter
  • 1993 – Suga, South Korean artist (BTS)
  • 1994 – Morgan Rielly, Canadian ice hockey player

Deaths on March 9

  • 886 – Abu Ma’shar al-Balkhi, Muslim scholar and astrologer (b. 787)
  • 1202 – Sverre of Norway
  • 1440 – Frances of Rome, Italian nun and saint (b. 1384)
  • 1444 – Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist (b. c.1370)
  • 1463 – Catherine of Bologna, Italian nun and saint (d. 1463)
  • 1566 – David Rizzio, Italian-Scottish courtier and politician (b. 1533).
  • 1649 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Scottish soldier and politician, (b. 1606)
  • 1649 – Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier and politician (b. 1590)
  • 1661 – Cardinal Mazarin, Italian-French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1602)
  • 1709 – Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu, English courtier and politician (b. 1638)
  • 1808 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (b. 1739)
  • 1810 – Ozias Humphry, English painter and academic (b. 1742)
  • 1825 – Anna Laetitia Barbauld, English poet, author, and critic (b. 1743)
  • 1847 – Mary Anning, English paleontologist (b. 1799)
  • 1851 – Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist and chemist (b. 1777)1888 – William I, German Emperor (b. 1797)
  • 1895 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (b. 1836)
  • 1897 – Sondre Norheim, Norwegian-American skier (b. 1825)
  • 1918 – Frank Wedekind, German author and playwright (b. 1864)
  • 1925 – Willard Metcalf, American painter and academic (b. 1858)
  • 1926 – Mikao Usui, Japanese spiritual leader, founded Reiki (b. 1865)
  • 1937 – Paul Elmer More, American journalist and critic (b. 1864)
  • 1943 – Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (b. 1878)
  • 1954 – Vagn Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer and academic (b. 1874)
  • 1955 – Miroslava, Czech-Mexican actress (b. 1925)
  • 1964 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (b. 1870)
  • 1969 – Abdul Munim Riad, Egyptian general (b. 1919)
  • 1971 – Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (b. 1902)
  • 1974 – Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr., American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
  • 1974 – Harry Womack, American singer (b. 1945)
  • 1983 – Faye Emerson, American actress (b. 1917)
  • 1983 – Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
  • 1988 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer, politician and Chancellor of Germany (b. 1904)
  • 1989 – Robert Mapplethorpe, American photographer (b. 1946)
  • 1991 – Jim Hardin, American baseball player (b. 1943)
  • 1992 – Menachem Begin, Belarusian-Israeli soldier, politician and Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
  • 1993 – C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian and author (b. 1909)
  • 1994 – Charles Bukowski, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1920)
  • 1994 – Eddie Creatchman, Canadian wrestler, referee, and manager (b. 1928)
  • 1994 – Fernando Rey, Spanish actor (b. 1917)
  • 1997 – Jean-Dominique Bauby, French journalist and author (b. 1952)
  • 1997 – Terry Nation, Welsh author and screenwriter (b. 1930)
  • 1997 – The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper, songwriter, and actor (b. 1972)
  • 1999 – Harry Somers, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1925)
  • 2000 – Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (b. 1908)
  • 2003 – Stan Brakhage, American director and cinematographer (b. 1933)
  • 2003 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician, President of Nauru (b. 1946)
  • 2006 – Tom Fox, American activist (b. 1951)
  • 2006 – John Profumo, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1915)
  • 2007 – Brad Delp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1951)
  • 2007 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
  • 2010 – Willie Davis, American baseball player and manager (b. 1940)
  • 2010 – Doris Haddock, American activist and politician (b. 1910)
  • 2011 – David S. Broder, American journalist and academic (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Max Jakobson, Finnish journalist and diplomat
  • 2013 – Merton Simpson, American painter and art collector (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish soldier and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2016 – Robert Horton, American actor (b. 1924)
  • 2016 – Clyde Lovellette, American basketball player and coach (b. 1929)
  • 2017 – Howard Hodgkin, British painter (b. 1932)
  • 2018 – Jo Min-ki, Korean actor (b. 1965)
  • 2020 – John Bathersby, Australian Catholic bishop (b. 1936)

Holidays and observances on March 9

  • Christian feast day:
    • Catherine of Bologna
    • Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
    • Frances of Rome
    • Pacian
    • Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (Coptic Orthodox Church)
    • Gregory of Nyssa (Episcopal Church (United States))
    • March 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Teachers’ Day or Eid Al Moalim (Lebanon)

March 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 363 – Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death.
  • 1046 – Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama.
  • 1279 – The Livonian Order is defeated in the Battle of Aizkraukle by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
  • 1496 – King Henry VII of England issues letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorising them to explore unknown lands.
  • 1616 – Nicolaus Copernicus’s book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres is added to the Index of Forbidden Books 73 years after it was first published.
  • 1766 – Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans.
  • 1770 – Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including Crispus Attucks, are fatally shot by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence) five years later.
  • 1811 – Peninsular War: A French force under the command of Marshal Victor is routed while trying to prevent an Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese army from lifting the Siege of Cádiz in the Battle of Barrosa.
  • 1824 – First Anglo-Burmese War: The British officially declare war on Burma.
  • 1836 – Samuel Colt patents the first production-model revolver, the .34-caliber.
  • 1850 – The Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales is opened.
  • 1860 – Parma, Tuscany, Modena and Romagna vote in referendums to join the Kingdom of Sardinia.
  • 1868 – Mefistofele, an opera by Arrigo Boito, receives its premiere performance at La Scala.
  • 1872 – George Westinghouse patents the air brake.
  • 1906 – Moro Rebellion: United States Army troops bring overwhelming force against the native Moros in the First Battle of Bud Dajo, leaving only six survivors.
  • 1912 – Italo-Turkish War: Italian forces are the first to use airships for military purposes, employing them for reconnaissance behind Turkish lines.
  • 1931 – The British Raj: Gandhi–Irwin Pact is signed.
  • 1933 – Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party receives 43.9% at the Reichstag elections, which allows the Nazis to later pass the Enabling Act and establish a dictatorship.
  • 1936 – First flight of K5054, the first prototype Supermarine Spitfire advanced monoplane fighter aircraft in the United Kingdom.
  • 1940 – Six high-ranking members of Soviet politburo, including Joseph Stalin, sign an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs, in what will become known as the Katyn massacre.
  • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces capture Batavia, capital of Dutch East Indies, which is left undefended after the withdrawal of the KNIL garrison and Australian Blackforce battalion to Buitenzorg and Bandung.
  • 1943 – First Flight of the Gloster Meteor, Britain’s first combat jet aircraft.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Uman–Botoșani Offensive in the western Ukrainian SSR.
  • 1946 – Cold War: Winston Churchill coins the phrase “Iron Curtain” in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri.
  • 1953 – Joseph Stalin, the longest serving leader of the Soviet Union, dies at his Volynskoe dacha in Moscow after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage four days earlier.
  • 1960 – Indonesian President Sukarno dismissed the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), 1955 democratically elected parliament, and replaced with DPR-GR, the parliament of his own selected members.
  • 1963 – American country music stars Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas and their pilot Randy Hughes are killed in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee.
  • 1965 – March Intifada: A Leftist uprising erupts in Bahrain against British colonial presence.
  • 1966 – BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707 aircraft, breaks apart in mid-air due to clear-air turbulence and crashes into Mount Fuji, Japan, killing all 124 people on board.
  • 1970 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations.
  • 1974 – Yom Kippur War: Israeli forces withdraw from the west bank of the Suez Canal.
  • 1978 – The Landsat 3 is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
  • 1979 – Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the German-American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by “off the scale” gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters.
  • 1981 – The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, is launched by Sinclair Research and would go on to sell over 1​1⁄2 million units around the world.
  • 1982 – Soviet probe Venera 14 lands on Venus.
  • 2003 – In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed in the Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing.
  • 2012 – Tropical Storm Irina kills over 75 as it passes through Madagascar.

Births on March 5

  • 1133 – Henry II of England (d. 1189)
  • 1224 – Saint Kinga of Poland (d. 1292)
  • 1324 – David II of Scotland (d. 1371)
  • 1326 – Louis I of Hungary (d. 1382)
  • 1340 – Cansignorio della Scala, Lord of Verona (d. 1375)
  • 1451 – William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English Earl (d. 1491)
  • 1512 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mathematician, cartographer, and philosopher (d. 1594)
  • 1523 – Rodrigo de Castro Osorio, Spanish cardinal (d. 1600)
  • 1527 – Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1603)
  • 1539 – Christoph Pezel, German theologian (d. 1604)
  • 1563 – John Coke, English civil servant and politician (d. 1644)
  • 1575 – William Oughtred, English minister and mathematician (d. 1660)
  • 1585 – John George I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1656)
  • 1585 – Frederick I, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (d. 1638)
  • 1637 – Jan van der Heyden, Dutch painter and engineer (d. 1712)
  • 1658 – Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, French explorer and politician, 3rd Colonial Governor of Louisiana (d. 1730)
  • 1693 – Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian and scholar (d. 1754)
  • 1696 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (d. 1770)
  • 1703 – Vasily Trediakovsky, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1768)
  • 1713 – Edward Cornwallis, English general and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (d. 1776)
  • 1713 – Frederick Cornwallis, English archbishop (d. 1783)
  • 1723 – Princess Mary of Great Britain (d. 1773)
  • 1733 – Vincenzo Galeotti, Italian-Danish dancer and choreographer (d. 1816)
  • 1739 – Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American colonel and physician (d. 1819)
  • 1748 – Jonas Carlsson Dryander, Swedish botanist and biologist (d. 1810)
  • 1748 – William Shield, English violinist and composer (d. 1829)
  • 1750 – Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d’Ansse de Villoison, French scholar and academic (d. 1805)
  • 1751 – Jan Křtitel Kuchař, Czech organist, composer, and educator (d. 1829)
  • 1774 – Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse, Danish organist and composer (d. 1842)
  • 1779 – Benjamin Gompertz, English mathematician and statistician (d. 1865)
  • 1785 – Carlo Odescalchi, Italian cardinal (d. 1841)
  • 1794 – Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (d. 1872)
  • 1794 – Robert Cooper Grier, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1870)
  • 1814 – Wilhelm von Giesebrecht, German historian and academic (d. 1889)
  • 1800 – Georg Friedrich Daumer, German poet and philosopher (d. 1875)
  • 1815 – John Wentworth, American journalist and politician, 19th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1888)
  • 1817 – Austen Henry Layard, English archaeologist, academic, and politician, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (d. 1894)
  • 1830 – Étienne-Jules Marey, French physiologist and chronophotographer (d. 1904)
  • 1830 – Charles Wyville Thomson, Scottish historian and zoologist (d. 1882)
  • 1834 – Félix de Blochausen, Luxembourgian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1915)
  • 1834 – Marietta Piccolomini, Italian soprano (d. 1899)
  • 1853 – Howard Pyle, American author and illustrator (d. 1911)
  • 1862 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player and theoretician (d. 1934)
  • 1867 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 14th Premier of Quebec (d. 1952)
  • 1869 – Michael von Faulhaber, German cardinal (d. 1952)
  • 1870 – Frank Norris, American journalist and author (d. 1902)
  • 1870 – Evgeny Paton, French-Ukrainian engineer (d. 1953)
  • 1871 – Rosa Luxemburg, Polish-Russian economist and philosopher (d. 1919)
  • 1871 – Konstantinos Pallis, Greek general and politician, Minister Governor-General of Macedonia (d. 1941)
  • 1873 – Olav Bjaaland, Norwegian skier and explorer (d. 1961)
  • 1874 – Henry Travers, English-American actor (d. 1965)
  • 1875 – Harry Lawson, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Victoria (d. 1952)
  • 1876 – Thomas Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote, English lawyer and politician, 8th Lord Chief Justice of England (d. 1947)
  • 1876 – Elisabeth Moore, American tennis player (d. 1959)
  • 1879 – William Beveridge, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic (d. 1963)
  • 1879 – Andres Larka, Estonian general and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of War (d. 1943)
  • 1880 – Sergei Natanovich Bernstein, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1968)
  • 1882 – Dora Marsden, English author and activist (d. 1960)
  • 1883 – Pauline Sperry, American mathematician (d. 1967)
  • 1885 – Marius Barbeau, Canadian ethnographer and academic (d. 1969)
  • 1886 – Dong Biwu, Chinese judge and politician, Chairman of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1975)
  • 1886 – Freddie Welsh, Welsh boxer (d. 1927)
  • 1887 – Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Henry Daniell, English-American actor (d. 1963)
  • 1898 – Zhou Enlai, Chinese politician, 1st Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1976)
  • 1898 – Misao Okawa, Japanese super-centenarian (d. 2015)
  • 1900 – Lilli Jahn, Jewish German doctor (d. 1944)
  • 1900 – Johanna Langefeld, German guard and supervisor of three Nazi concentration camps (d. 1974)
  • 1901 – Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg (d. 1971)
  • 1901 – Julian Przyboś, Polish poet, essayist and translator (d. 1970)
  • 1904 – Karl Rahner, German priest and theologian (d. 1984)
  • 1905 – László Benedek, Hungarian-American director and cinematographer (d. 1992)
  • 1908 – Fritz Fischer, German historian and author (d. 1999)
  • 1908 – Irving Fiske, American author and playwright (d. 1990)
  • 1908 – Rex Harrison, English actor (d. 1990)
  • 1910 – Momofuku Ando, Taiwanese-Japanese businessman, founded Nissin Foods (d. 2007)
  • 1910 – Ennio Flaiano, Italian author, screenwriter, and critic (d. 1972)
  • 1912 – Jack Marshall, New Zealand colonel, lawyer, and politician, 28th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1988)
  • 1915 – Henry Hicks, Canadian academic and politician, 16th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 1990)
  • 1915 – Laurent Schwartz, French mathematician and academic (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2017)
  • 1918 – Red Storey, Canadian football player, referee, and sportscaster (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – James Tobin, American economist and academic (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – José Aboulker, Algerian surgeon and activist (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Virginia Christine, American actress (d. 1996)
  • 1920 – Rachel Gurney, English actress (d. 2001)
  • 1920 – Wang Zengqi, Chinese writer (d. 1997)
  • 1921 – Elmer Valo, American baseball player and coach (d. 1998)
  • 1922 – James Noble, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1922 – Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1975)
  • 1923 – Juan A. Rivero, Puerto Rican biologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Laurence Tisch, American businessman, co-founded the Loews Corporation (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Roger Marche, French footballer (d. 1997)
  • 1927 – Jack Cassidy, American actor and singer (d. 1976)
  • 1927 – Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, Scottish businessman and politician
  • 1928 – J. Hillis Miller, American academic and critic
  • 1929 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish race car driver (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – J. B. Lenoir, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1967)
  • 1930 – John Ashley, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (d. 2008)
  • 1930 – Del Crandall, American baseball player and manager
  • 1931 – Fred, French author and illustrator (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Barry Tuckwell, Australian horn player and educator (d. 2020)
  • 1932 – Paul Sand, American actor
  • 1933 – Walter Kasper, German cardinal and theologian
  • 1934 – Daniel Kahneman, Israeli-American economist and psychologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1935 – Letizia Battaglia, Italian photographer and journalist
  • 1935 – Philip K. Chapman, Australian-American astronaut and engineer
  • 1936 – Canaan Banana, Zimbabwean minister and politician, 1st President of Zimbabwe (d. 2003)
  • 1936 – Dale Douglass, American golfer
  • 1936 – Dean Stockwell, American actor
  • 1937 – Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian general and politician, 5th President of Nigeria
  • 1938 – Paul Evans, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1938 – Lynn Margulis, American biologist and academic (d. 2011)
  • 1938 – Fred Williamson, American football player, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Samantha Eggar, English actress
  • 1939 – Tony Rundle, Australian politician, 40th Premier of Tasmania
  • 1939 – Benyamin Sueb, Indonesian actor and comedian (d. 1995)
  • 1939 – Peter Woodcock, Canadian serial killer (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Pierre Wynants, Belgian chef
  • 1940 – Tom Butler, English bishop
  • 1940 – Ken Irvine, Australian rugby league player (d. 1990)
  • 1940 – Graham McRae, New Zealand race car driver
  • 1940 – Sepp Piontek, German footballer and manager
  • 1941 – Des Wilson, New Zealand-English businessman and activist
  • 1942 – Felipe González, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain
  • 1942 – Mike Resnick, American author and editor (d. 2020)
  • 1942 – David Watkins, Welsh rugby player
  • 1943 – Lucio Battisti, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
  • 1944 – Peter Brandes, Danish painter and sculptor
  • 1944 – Roy Gutman, American journalist and author
  • 1945 – Wilf Tranter, English footballer
  • 1946 – Richard Bell, Canadian pianist (d. 2007)
  • 1946 – Guerrino Boatto, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 2018)
  • 1946 – Graham Hawkins, English footballer and manager (d. 2016)
  • 1946 – Murray Head, English actor and singer
  • 1947 – Clodagh Rodgers, Northern Irish singer and actress
  • 1947 – Kent Tekulve, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1984)
  • 1948 – Eddy Grant, Guyanese-British singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1948 – Richard Hickox, English conductor and scholar (d. 2008)
  • 1948 – Elaine Paige, English singer and actress
  • 1948 – Jan van Beveren, Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Bernard Arnault, French businessman, philanthropist, and art collector
  • 1949 – Franz Josef Jung, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of Defence
  • 1949 – Tom Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Rodney Hogg, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1952 – Petar Borota, Serbian footballer and coach (d. 2010)
  • 1952 – Mike Squires, American baseball player and scout
  • 1953 – Katarina Frostenson, Swedish poet and author
  • 1953 – Michael J. Sandel, American philosopher and academic
  • 1953 – Tokyo Sexwale, South African businessman and politician, 1st Premier of Gauteng
  • 1954 – Marsha Warfield, American actress
  • 1954 – João Lourenço, Angolan president
  • 1955 – Penn Jillette, American magician, actor, and author
  • 1956 – Teena Marie, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1956 – Christopher Snowden, English engineer and academic
  • 1957 – Mark E. Smith, English singer, songwriter and musician (d. 2018)
  • 1957 – Ray Suarez, American journalist and author
  • 1958 – Volodymyr Bezsonov, Ukrainian footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Bob Forward, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Andy Gibb, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1988)
  • 1959 – Vazgen Sargsyan, Armenian colonel and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 1999)
  • 1960 – Paul Drayson, Baron Drayson, English businessman and politician, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
  • 1963 – Joel Osteen, American pastor, author, and television host
  • 1964 – Bertrand Cantat, French singer-songwriter
  • 1964 – Gerald Vanenburg, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1965 – José Semedo, Portuguese footballer and coach
  • 1966 – Oh Eun-sun, South Korean mountaineer
  • 1966 – Bob Halkidis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1966 – Michael Irvin, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
  • 1966 – Aasif Mandvi, Indian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Zachery Stevens, American singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Gordon Bajnai, Hungarian businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Hungary
  • 1968 – Theresa Villiers, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
  • 1969 – Paul Blackthorne, English actor and producer
  • 1969 – Danny King, English author and playwright
  • 1969 – Moussa Saïb, Algerian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – M.C. Solaar, Afro-French rapper
  • 1970 – Mike Brown, American basketball player and coach
  • 1970 – John Frusciante, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1970 – Yuu Watase, Japanese illustrator
  • 1971 – Greg Berry, English footballer and coach
  • 1971 – Jeffrey Hammonds, American baseball player and scout
  • 1971 – Yuri Lowenthal, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Filip Meirhaeghe, Belgian cyclist
  • 1971 – Mark Protheroe, Australian rugby league player
  • 1973 – Yannis Anastasiou, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Nelly Arcan, Canadian author (d. 2009)
  • 1973 – Juan Esnáider, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Ryan Franklin, American baseball player
  • 1973 – Nicole Pratt, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Špela Pretnar, Slovenian skier
  • 1974 – Kevin Connolly, American actor and director
  • 1974 – Jens Jeremies, German footballer
  • 1974 – Eva Mendes, American model and actress
  • 1975 – Luciano Burti, Brazilian race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Sasho Petrovski, Australian footballer
  • 1975 – Chris Silverwood, English cricketer and coach
  • 1976 – Neil Jackson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1976 – Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
  • 1976 – Paul Konerko, American baseball player
  • 1976 – Norm Maxwell, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1977 – Taismary Agüero, Cuban-Italian volleyball player
  • 1978 – Jared Crouch, Australian footballer
  • 1978 – Mike Hessman, American baseball player and coach
  • 1978 – Kimberly McCullough, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1978 – Carlos Ochoa, Mexican footballer
  • 1979 – Martin Axenrot, Swedish drummer
  • 1979 – Lee Mears, English rugby player
  • 1980 – Shay Carl, American businessman, co-founded Maker Studios
  • 1981 – Barret Jackman, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Paul Martin, American ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Dan Carter, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1982 – Philipp Haastrup, German footballer
  • 1983 – Édgar Dueñas, Mexican footballer
  • 1984 – Branko Cvetković, Serbian basketball player
  • 1984 – Guillaume Hoarau, French footballer
  • 1985 – David Marshall, Scottish footballer
  • 1985 – Brad Mills, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Kenichi Matsuyama, Japanese actor
  • 1986 – Alexandre Barthe, French footballer
  • 1986 – Matty Fryatt, English footballer
  • 1987 – Anna Chakvetadze, Russian tennis player
  • 1987 – Chris Cohen, English footballer
  • 1988 – Liassine Cadamuro-Bentaïba, Algerian footballer
  • 1990 – Danny Drinkwater, English footballer
  • 1990  – Mason Plumlee, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Alex Smithies, English footballer
  • 1991 – Ramiro Funes Mori, Argentinian footballer
  • 1991 – Daniil Trifonov, Russian pianist and composer
  • 1993 – El Hadji Ba, French footballer
  • 1993 – Joshua Coyne, American violinist and composer
  • 1993 – Harry Maguire, English footballer
  • 1994 – Daria Gavrilova, Russian-Australian tennis player
  • 1994 – Kyle Schwarber, American baseball player
  • 1996 – Taylor Hill, American model
  • 1996 – Emmanuel Mudiay, Congolese basketball player
  • 1997 – Milena Venega, Cuban rower
  • 1998 – Bo Bichette, American baseball player
  • 1999 – Madison Beer, American singer, songwriter and producer.
  • 2007 – Roman Griffin Davis, British actor, second youngest Golden Globe recipient.

Deaths on March 5

  • 254 – Pope Lucius I (b. 200)
  • 824 – Suppo I, Frankish nobleman
  • 1239 – Hermann Balk, German knight
  • 1410 – Matthew of Kraków, Polish reformer (b. 1335)
  • 1417 – Manuel III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1364)
  • 1534 – Antonio da Correggio, Italian painter and educator (b. 1489)
  • 1539 – Nuno da Cunha, Portuguese admiral and politician, Governor of Portuguese India (b. 1487)
  • 1599 – Guido Panciroli, Italian historian and jurist (b. 1523)
  • 1611 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1533)
  • 1622 – Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (b. 1569)
  • 1695 – Henry Wharton, English writer and librarian (b. 1664)
  • 1726 – Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1655)
  • 1770 – Crispus Attucks, American slave (b. 1723)
  • 1778 – Thomas Arne, English composer and educator (b. 1710)
  • 1815 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologist (b. 1734)
  • 1827 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1749)
  • 1827 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1745)
  • 1829 – John Adams, English sailor and mutineer (b. 1766)
  • 1849 – David Scott, Scottish historical painter (b. 1806)
  • 1876 – Marie d’Agoult, German-French historian and author (b. 1805)
  • 1893 – Hippolyte Taine, French historian and critic (b. 1828)
  • 1895 – Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1831)
  • 1895 – Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet, English general and scholar (b. 1810)
  • 1907 – Friedrich Blass, German philologist, scholar, and academic (b. 1843)
  • 1925 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (b. 1859)
  • 1927 – Franz Mertens, Polish-Austrian mathematician and academic (b. 1840)
  • 1929 – David Dunbar Buick, Scottish-American businessman, founded Buick (b. 1854)
  • 1934 – Reşit Galip, Turkish academic and politician, 6th Turkish Minister of National Education (b. 1893)
  • 1935 – Roque Ruaño, Spanish priest and engineer (b. 1877)
  • 1940 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher and academic (b. 1868)
  • 1944 – Max Jacob, French poet and author (b. 1876)
  • 1945 – Lena Baker, African American maid and murderer (b. 1900)
  • 1947 – Alfredo Casella, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1883)
  • 1950 – Edgar Lee Masters, American poet, author, and playwright (b. 1868)
  • 1950 – Roman Shukhevych, Ukrainian general and politician (b. 1907)
  • 1953 – Herman J. Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1897)
  • 1953 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1891)
  • 1953 – Joseph Stalin, Soviet dictator and politician of Georgian descent, 2nd leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1878)
  • 1955 – Antanas Merkys, Lithuanian lawyer and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Lithuania (b. 1888)
  • 1963 – Patsy Cline, American singer-songwriter (b. 1932)
  • 1963 – Cowboy Copas, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1913)
  • 1963 – Hawkshaw Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1921)
  • 1965 – Chen Cheng, Chinese general and politician, 27th Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1897)
  • 1965 – Pepper Martin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1904)
  • 1966 – Anna Akhmatova, Ukrainian-Russian poet, author, and translator (b. 1889)
  • 1967 – Mischa Auer, Russian-American actor (b. 1905)
  • 1967 – Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iranian political scientist and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1882)
  • 1967 – Georges Vanier, Canadian general and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (b. 1888)
  • 1971 – Allan Nevins, American journalist and author (b. 1890)
  • 1973 – Robert C. O’Brien, American journalist and author (b. 1918)
  • 1974 – John Samuel Bourque, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1894)
  • 1974 – Billy De Wolfe, American actor (b. 1907)
  • 1974 – Sol Hurok, Ukrainian-American businessman (b. 1888)
  • 1976 – Otto Tief, Estonian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1889)
  • 1977 – Tom Pryce, Welsh race car driver (b. 1949)
  • 1980 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian-American actor (b. 1912)
  • 1981 – Yip Harburg, American songwriter and composer (b. 1896)
  • 1982 – John Belushi, American actor (b. 1949)
  • 1984 – Pierre Cochereau, French organist and composer (b. 1924)
  • 1984 – Tito Gobbi, Italian operatic baritone (b. 1913)
  • 1984 – William Powell, American actor (b. 1892)
  • 1988 – Alberto Olmedo, Argentine comedian and actor (b. 1933)
  • 1990 – Gary Merrill, American actor and director (b. 1915)
  • 1995 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1943)
  • 1996 – Whit Bissell, American character actor (b. 1909)
  • 1997 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American writer (b. 1909)
  • 1997 – Jean Dréville, French director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
  • 1999 – Richard Kiley, American actor and singer (b. 1922)
  • 2000 – Lolo Ferrari, French dancer, actress and singer (b. 1963)
  • 2005 – David Sheppard, English cricketer and bishop (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – Joseph Weizenbaum, German computer scientist and author (b. 1923)
  • 2010 – Charles B. Pierce, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
  • 2010 – Richard Stapley, British actor and writer (b. 1923)
  • 2011 – Manolis Rasoulis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Paul Haines, New Zealand-Australian author (b. 1970)
  • 2012 – Philip Madoc, Welsh-English actor (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Robert B. Sherman, American songwriter and screenwriter (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – William O. Wooldridge, American sergeant (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Paul Bearer, American wrestler and manager (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan colonel and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Duane Gish, American biochemist and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Geoff Edwards, American actor and game show host (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Ailsa McKay, Scottish economist and academic (b. 1963)
  • 2014 – Leopoldo María Panero, Spanish poet and translator (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Ola L. Mize, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Vlada Divljan, Serbian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
  • 2015 – Edward Egan, American cardinal (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (b. 1941)
  • 2016 – Al Wistert, American football player and coach (b. 1920)
  • 2017 – Kurt Moll, German opera singer (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on March 5

  • Christian feast day:
    • Ciarán of Saigir
    • John Joseph of the Cross
    • Piran
    • Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea
    • Thietmar of Minden
    • March 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Custom Chief’s Day (Vanuatu)
  • Day of Physical Culture and Sport (Azerbaijan)
  • Learn from Lei Feng Day (China)
  • St Piran’s Day (Cornwall)

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